Samsung's early look at third quarter performance pegs operating profit at 107.40 trillion won, or $80.2 billion, clearing the 100 trillion won mark for the first time in its history. That is 782% higher than a year ago. The company also projects revenue of about 195 trillion won, nearly 127% above the same period last year. Shares still slipped 0.7% in Thursday morning trading.
For context, the second quarter was already a high watermark: revenue reached a record 171.5 trillion won and operating profit hit a record 89.5 trillion won, powered by the memory business.
Record profits and a cool market reaction usually mean expectations ran ahead. Market Briefs covers the chip trade free every morning.
The setup is familiar this year: AI spending is soaking up memory while supply stays tight. Josh Gilbert, eToro's lead analyst for APAC, said, "Samsung has delivered a record profit and still fallen short of expectations, which tells you just how demanding the AI trade has become." "When expectations are so high for memory makers, the market doesn't hand out points for effort."
He also noted that emerging AI agents burn far more memory than a single-question chatbot would. And buyers are locking in supply: "Memory buyers are also committing to multiyear supply agreements, giving Samsung greater visibility over demand in a business where investors have always worried about the next downturn," he said.
Samsung is leaning into AI on the strategy side too. In September, it unveiled a strategic tie-up with the French startup Mistral AI and intends to roll out that company's models throughout its semiconductor business.
Later this month, Samsung is slated to publish its complete third-quarter results, with a division-by-division breakdown. That update should make it clearer how AI demand is flowing through each unit and how those multiyear contracts shape the outlook.
The takeaway for your wallet: the AI memory cycle is still running hot, expectations are even hotter, and that gap is steering prices in the short term.
Memory pricing is the swing factor in the whole AI hardware chain. Get the free Market Briefs daily newsletter and follow it.
