Samsung forecasts record profit, crediting AI boom for rapid growth

The memory chipmaker estimated that operating profit reached 20 trillion won (US$13.76 billion) and consolidated sales of roughly 93 trillion won ($64 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to an its own earnings guidance.

It suggests that Samsung is strongly benefitting from the ongoing AI boom and is a big beneficiary of limited supplies of memory chips used for AI applications. Demand for these chips continues to surge amid continued interest in AI technologies and an ongoing global race to build AI-ready data centres.

Such a strong performance is a dramatic contrast from where Samsung was last year. Chief executive Jun Young-hyun had apologised for the company’s underperformance in HBM, prompting concerns that Samsung had lost its competitive edge.

However, in October, Jun met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and in November Mukesh Ambani. According to analysts cited by the Financial Times, Samsung could now be on track to be a key supplier for Nvidia, with its most advanced HBM4 chips likely to be used in the global chipmaker’s Vera Rubin platform.

In a speech last week, Jun stated that “Samsung is back,” suggesting that its contract chip manufacturing business was “primed for a Great Leap Forward” in the wake of supply deals with strong customers like Tesla.

Samsung is set to release its audited earnings and hold its quarterly earnings call later this month.

The news comes shortly after Samsung partnered with Thales on its post-quantum-ready security chip – the chip that was recognised at the CES 2026 awards. The breakthrough is a significant step forward for both companies as they seek to protect connected devices against cyberattacks and future quantum-era threats.

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