Samsung forecasts record third-quarter profit of $80 billion as AI boom fuels chip demand — SkimNews
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- Samsung Electronics projected Q3 operating profit of 107.40 trillion won (~$80.2 billion), the first time the chipmaker has crossed the 100 trillion won threshold, with operating profit up 782% year-over-year.
- Samsung forecast Q3 revenue of roughly 195 trillion won, a near 127% jump from the same quarter last year, as memory-chip demand from AI spending outpaces supply.
- Samsung shares dropped 0.7% Thursday morning despite the record print — proof of how punishing the AI trade has become for memory makers that miss the whisper number.
- eToro lead APAC analyst Josh Gilbert noted memory buyers are now locking in multi-year supply agreements, giving Samsung unusual visibility into demand and partly easing long-running cyclical downturn fears.
- Samsung announced a strategic partnership in September with French AI startup Mistral AI to deploy Mistral's models across Samsung's semiconductor operations, signaling deeper vertical AI integration.
- Samsung posted Q2 record operating profit of 89.5 trillion won and record revenue of 171.5 trillion won, also memory-driven — the Q3 forecast extends a streak of successive record quarters.
- Full Q3 earnings with a business-by-business breakdown are due later this month.
Why it matters: Samsung has now crossed 100 trillion won in operating profit for the first time, with a 782% YoY jump and 127% revenue surge, yet shares fell 0.7% — a clear signal that AI-driven memory demand has set a bar so high even record prints can't move the stock. Multi-year supply agreements cited by analysts give Samsung unusual forward visibility in a historically cyclical business.
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