South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics announced today that it expects to post a 19-fold jump in its quarterly operating profit, driven by surging global demand for artificial intelligence memory chips.
The company forecast that it made 89.4 trillion won ($58.4 billion) between April and June 2026 — its third consecutive record quarterly operating profit. Sales reached approximately 171 trillion won, more than double the same period last year.
The results mark one of the best quarterly performances ever recorded in the tech sector, rivaled only by Nvidia's record earlier this year. Industry analyst Marc Einstein from Counterpoint Research attributed the surge to the AI boom: "Memory companies continue to ride a tidal wave driven by limited supply and unprecedented demand."
Samsung, one of the world's largest semiconductor manufacturers, supplies chips to tech giants including Nvidia and Google. The company has hiked memory chip prices as supply remains tight, with IDC researcher Bryan Ma noting, "We do expect supplies to be tight through next year given the unabated demand from AI data centres."
Despite the staggering results, Samsung's shares fell nearly 7% in Seoul on Tuesday as some investors had anticipated even stronger performance. The company's stock market value has more than doubled since the start of 2026.
The announcement comes weeks after South Korea unveiled plans for at least $880 billion in investments led by Samsung and rival SK Hynix to expand the country's chip manufacturing capacity. SK Hynix, which has seen its shares surge over 200% this year, is simultaneously pursuing a $29 billion U.S. stock listing on the Nasdaq.
The semiconductor boom is reshaping global markets, with rival Asian firms in Japan, China, and Taiwan also investing heavily in chip factories to meet the insatiable demand driven by the AI revolution.
