Samsung's Q1 Profit Soars 755% on AI Memory Chip Boom

The company said its preliminary operating profit for the first quarter reached 57.2 trillion won (USD 38 billion), while revenue stood at 133 trillion won (USD 88.7 billion).

Operating profit surged 755 per cent from 6.69 trillion won (USD 4.46 billion) a year earlier, while revenue rose 68.1 per cent from 79.14 trillion won (USD 52.8 billion) in the same period last year.

The strong performance has pushed Samsung into the global top five in quarterly operating profit, with analysts suggesting the company could surpass Nvidia next year on an annual basis.

The first-quarter results also exceeded the company's previous record set in the fourth quarter of last year, when it posted revenue of 93.8 trillion won (USD 62.6 billion) and operating profit of 20.1 trillion won (USD 13.4 billion).

Notably, the latest quarterly operating profit alone surpassed Samsung's full-year earnings of 43.6 trillion won (USD 29.1 billion) in 2025.

The Korea Herald reported that results were well above market expectations, which had been revised upwards to around 120 trillion won (USD 80 billion) in revenue and 50 trillion won (USD 33.4 billion) in operating profit, marking one of the company's biggest earnings surprises.

While Samsung did not provide a segment-wise breakdown, analysts attributed the strong performance to its semiconductor business, especially memory chips, as tight global supply pushed prices sharply higher.

Brokerages estimate that the chip division alone contributed between 37 trillion won ($24.7 billion) and 48 trillion won ($32 billion) in operating profit during the quarter.

The growth momentum is expected to continue, with industry data indicating that DRAM prices rose 90-95 per cent in the first quarter and could increase by another 60 per cent in the second quarter. On an annual basis, DRAM prices are projected to surge up to 250 per cent compared to 2025.

Analysts noted that Samsung's aggressive pricing strategy in the memory market has supported earnings growth and that the current memory cycle is approaching the midpoint of a "supercycle."

"Samsung, as the industry leader, pursued an aggressive and proactive pricing strategy in the commodity memory market throughout the quarter," said Kim Sun-woo, an analyst at Meritz Securities.

"The current memory cycle is approaching the midpoint of a supercycle, and the company's outsized earnings are likely to drive a rerating of its stock."

Brokerages have also turned positive on Samsung's outlook. Some estimates project annual operating profit to reach 327 trillion won (USD 218 billion) this year and 488 trillion won (USD 325.6 billion) in 2027.

Despite strong earnings, Samsung's market capitalisation of about USD 830 billion remains significantly lower than Nvidia's USD 4.3 trillion and TSMC's USD 1.5 trillion, indicating potential upside.

Samsung shares rose 0.73 per cent to 194,500 won during midday trading in South Korean markets after hitting an intraday high of 209,500 won per share.

The company has been expanding shipments of high-end memory products, including HBM3E chips, to major tech firms such as Nvidia, Google and AMD, and has also begun mass production of next-generation HBM4 chips, expected to power upcoming AI platforms.

- ANI