Strong memory business powers Samsung to record third-quarter profit

Samsung Electronics reported a record third-quarter performance, driven by booming demand for AI-related memory chips. Net profit surged over six-fold year-on-year, while operating profit and revenue hit record highs, with the semiconductor division contributing nearly all of the company's operating earnings.

Seoul: Samsung Electronics said on Thursday its third-quarter net profit jumped more than six-fold from a year earlier, with its memory business generating most of the company’s quarterly operating profits amid an artificial intelligence (AI)-related boom.

Net profit for the July-September period came to 75.13 trillion won ($56.2 billion), up 514.6 percent from 12.22 trillion won a year earlier, the world’s largest memory chipmaker said in a regulatory filing, reports Yonhap news agency.

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Operating profit surged 783.1 percent on-year to 107.44 trillion won, while revenue rose 126.9 percent to 195.25 trillion won.

Samsung said it became the first global tech company to post quarterly operating profit of more than 100 trillion won.

It also posted record quarterly revenue and operating profit for the fourth consecutive quarter, extending a streak that began in the fourth quarter of 2025.

By business division, the lucrative semiconductor business posted an operating profit of 106.5 trillion won during the cited period, accounting for 99.1 percent of the company’s total operating profit.

Samsung said it expanded sales of sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory 4 (HBM4) chips and responded proactively to AI server demand, setting a record for quarterly performance for the second consecutive quarter.

Revenue from its HBM4 chips more than tripled in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter.

“It appears that our goal of securing an HBM market share equivalent to our overall DRAM market share in the second half of this year was already achieved in the third quarter,” the company said during its earnings call.

The company has been among the biggest beneficiaries of the AI infrastructure boom, backed by its position as the world’s largest memory chip producer. It was the first in the industry to begin mass production and shipments of HBM4 chips.

Samsung expects demand for memory chips to continue growing in the fourth quarter, supported by sustained investment in AI infrastructure.

The company said it plans to focus on profitability by expanding sales of premium products during the year-end peak shopping season.

The record earnings also come amid industry concerns over the long-term profitability of the AI market.

Samsung, however, expects the semiconductor industry to remain strong in 2027, supported by sustained record-level AI investment and supply constraints.

Despite the record earnings announced shortly after the market opened, Samsung Electronics shares fell sharply in late Thursday morning trading as the results fell slightly short of analysts’ expectations.