Samsung forecasts record quarterly profit, beating estimates on AI memory demand

July 6, 2026 Updated Mon., July 6, 2026 at 8:48 p.m.

By Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee Reuters

SEOUL, South Korea – Samsung Electronics on Tuesday forecast a 19-fold jump in second-quarter operating profit from a year earlier, its third consecutive quarter of record operating profit, as AI-driven demand continued to boost memory chip prices.

The world’s largest memory chipmaker estimated April-June operating profit at $58.44 billion, beating an LSEG SmartEstimate of $57.2 trillion, according to a regulatory filing. It reported a profit of $3.1 trillion a year earlier.

The figure surpassed Samsung’s combined operating profit for the three years from 2023 through 2025.

Revenue would likely rise 129% to $112 trillion from a year earlier, it said.

Memory prices continued to climb during the quarter as AI spending broadened beyond high-bandwidth memory into conventional DRAM and NAND products.

Analysts said rapid growth in HBM production has tightened supply of conventional memory products used in smartphones, PCs and enterprise servers, further supporting prices.

Citi Research last week said average selling prices for DRAM and NAND rose 44% and 53% quarter-on-quarter, respectively, in the second quarter.

Analysts also said customers are increasingly seeking longer-term supply agreements, reinforcing expectations that memory prices will remain elevated for longer and benefiting manufacturers such as Samsung with large-scale production capacity.

While Samsung’s memory business is expected to post another quarter of strong earnings, analysts said losses ⁠at its foundry and logic chip (LSI) businesses are likely to widen because bonus expenses are allocated across the semiconductor division.

Samsung in May agreed a pay ⁠deal with workers across its chips division that would link their performance bonuses to operating profit.

Samsung said it plans to announce detailed results on July 30, including a breakdown of earnings of each of its business divisions.

($1 = 1,529.8100 won)

(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee; Editing by Sonali Paul)

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.

Samsung forecasts record quarterly profit, beating estimates on AI memory demand

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

Molly Quinn

Rob Curley

Shopify tells users to remove vapes from online stores

Meta AI image detector fails to identify some of its own cropped AI images, Reuters analysis finds

Ryan Reynolds-backed Aviation Gin shutters Oregon distillery