Samsung to see profit surge due to AI memory demand

Samsung is expecting a 1,800% operating profit jump on account of surging AI demand for memory, the company reported this week.

The company, which is responsible for making some of the world’s largest memory chips, has estimated its April-June operating profit at 89.4 trillion won (US$58.4 billion) – an eighteen-fold increase. This is after it reported in April its first-quarter earnings would exceed its entire profit for 2025.

Such rapid growth has been attributed to overwhelming global demand for the advanced memory chips that are used in data centres to power AI. If the estimate by Samsung is correct, it could be the largest quarterly operating profit in history, with a Sejong University professor Kim Dae-job telling AFP that “if it can sustain this level of performance, Samsung could become the world’s leading manufacturing company”.

This would be a big pivot for Samsung, a company that last year was apologising for disappointing results after supply of its high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips lagged.

According to Samsung, its revenue has likely risen by 129% to 171 trillion won ($112.55 billion). The company is expected to release its final earnings report at the end of this month.

The estimation also comes off the back of a successful deal by Samsung Group investing 140 trillion won ($90 billion) into South Korea’s central Chungcheong province. Confirmed last week, the investment is part of a wider strategic move from South Korea to power up its AI competitiveness.

Companies like SK Telecom are also responsible for building out further AI capacity to ensure the country becomes more of a global infrastructure hub for technology giants to invest in.

Such a sudden uptick for Samsung has also strengthened workers’ demands for higher pay, AFP said, with the company managing to avoid a large strike in May after reaching an agreement on bonuses.

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