AI chip boom pushes Samsung profits to record $80bn — SkimNews
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- Samsung Electronics expects Q3 operating profit of 107.4tn won ($80bn/£61bn), a nine-fold surge year-over-year and its fourth consecutive record quarter, driven by memory chip demand from AI data centers
- The AI-driven chip demand has pushed Samsung's stock market valuation past $1tn (£757bn) earlier this year
- Samsung also stands to benefit from its latest folding Galaxy devices launched in August, though the broader chip shortage is simultaneously raising prices for consumer electronics like smartphones and computers
- SK Hynix and Micron are Samsung's main rivals in memory chips that supply AI firms including Nvidia
- In June, South Korea unveiled plans for at least $880bn in chip manufacturing projects led by Samsung and SK Hynix to expand domestic capacity
- US tech giants Google, Amazon, and Meta have collectively pledged more than $650bn into AI projects this year, fueling the memory chip demand
- Samsung's full Q3 earnings report is due at the end of October, with this estimate released as a preview to advise investors
Why it matters: Samsung's nine-fold profit jump is the clearest read yet that AI infrastructure spending — $650bn pledged by US tech giants plus $880bn in planned South Korean chip investment — is flowing directly into memory chipmaker earnings, pushing Samsung's valuation past $1tn. Consumers absorb the flip side: chip shortages are already raising prices on smartphones and computers.
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