Samsung's profit explodes over 1,800% on AI chip demand
What's the story
Samsung Electronics has reported a record-breaking quarterly operating profit for the second quarter of 2026. The company's profits shot up by an astounding 1,814% year-on-year to $62 billion, driven largely by the surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Samsung's revenue also witnessed a massive jump of 130% to $118.7 billion during this period. The tech giant's shares jumped by 7% following the announcement of these stellar results.
Market performance
Memory chip business drives profits
Samsung's memory chip business, which includes DRAM and NAND chips used in smartphones, cars, and servers, has been a major contributor to its record-breaking profits.
The company attributed the growth to the rising demand for AI servers. This led to all-time high sales of DRAM and NAND chips.
Samsung also revealed that it is investing heavily in new manufacturing facilities in Pyeongtaek and other infrastructure projects to meet this growing demand.
Product expansion
Strong demand for HBM4 and AI processors
Samsung has ramped up its sales of HBM4, its sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory for advanced AI processors.
The company also shipped industry's first samples of HBM4E to major customers.
Looking ahead, Samsung is seeing strong demand for general-purpose computing alongside AI. It is closely monitoring the balance between demand for HBM and server DRAM while keeping an optimal product mix to support long-term AI needs.
Strategic initiatives
Multi-year supply agreements with data center customers
Samsung has signed multi-year supply agreements with its top five global data center customers and is in advanced talks with five more.
The company expects industry supply constraints to continue next year and plans to manage its HBM and DRAM businesses in a balanced manner.
For the second half of 2026, Samsung anticipates strong memory demand focused on servers as well as continued AI infrastructure capital expenditure amid wider agentic AI adoption.
Future prospects
Samsung's robotics division and potential US listing
Samsung has also set up a new robotics division under the direct supervision of its CEO.
The company sees robotics, along with AI, as a key growth area and is considering partnerships with start-ups and possible M&As to fast-track its strategy.
As for a potential US listing, Samsung has said it is "not currently reviewing an ADR issuance," but an ADR remains "one of several possible options that could be open for consideration."