Samsung Q3 profit seen surging 782% to record $80B
What's the story
Samsung Electronics has projected a staggering nine-fold increase in its quarterly profit year-on-year. The massive growth is largely attributed to the rising demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. The South Korean tech giant expects its operating profit for the third quarter of this year to hit a record-breaking 107.4 trillion won ($80 billion), more than 780% leap.
Market leadership
Record-breaking profit forecast
Samsung is one of the world's largest manufacturers of memory chips, along with local competitor SK Hynix and US-based Micron.
These companies produce chips that are critical for AI firms such as NVIDIA.
The tech giant's Q3 profit forecast marks a record-breaking milestone as it would be the first South Korean company to post over 100 trillion won in quarterly operating profit.
Financial forecast
Strong revenue growth and positive outlook
Samsung also expects its revenue for the July-September period to rise by 127% to 195 trillion won.
Both the operating profit and revenue figures are all-time highs for the company, marking its fourth consecutive quarter of record-breaking earnings.
Analysts at South Korean brokerage Shinhan Securities have a positive outlook on Samsung's future performance, predicting "even stronger earnings" next year as it ramps up production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.
Industry impact
Impact on smartphone production costs
The global AI boom has already helped Samsung and other semiconductor giants post record profits this year.
However, the surge in demand for memory chips has also led to a price hike for DRAM and NAND flash used in smartphones.
This increase in production costs has made it challenging for Samsung's mobile division to maintain shipment volumes and market share without raising prices significantly.