Samsung Electronics 1st Korean firm to top $80 bil. in quarterly operating profit

Samsung Electronics estimated 107.4 trillion won in third-quarter operating profit on Thursday, setting a record for a Korean company. The company also estimated 195 trillion won in revenue, with final results scheduled for Oct. 29. Memory chips, including HBM4 and DRAM, were widely seen as the main drivers, while the Device Experience division was expected to post a second consecutive quarterly loss.

The estimated operating profit represents a 782.5 percent year-on-year increase, while estimated sales of 195 trillion won represent a 126.6 percent increase.

Samsung’s operating-profit estimate exceeded the 106.64 trillion won brokerage consensus, although its sales estimate was below the 200.64 trillion won forecast.

Analysts estimated that Samsung’s memory business generated around 110 trillion won in operating profit, with HBM4 sales for Nvidia’s Vera Rubin AI platform contributing to the quarter.

The Device Experience division was estimated to record an operating loss ranging from 1.1 trillion won to 2.64 trillion won.

Global smartphone shipments fell 7.4 percent in the second quarter, and third-quarter shipments were expected to decline 8 percent quarter-on-quarter to 58 million units.

Published Oct 8, 2026 7:55 am KST

Updated Oct 8, 2026 4:40 pm KST

Operating profit jumps 782.5% year-on-year

A traffic light is seen at Samsung Electronics headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, July 30. Yonhap

Samsung Electronics on Thursday estimated 107.4 trillion won ($80.28 billion) in operating profit for the third quarter, becoming the first Korean company to surpass 100 trillion won in quarterly operating profit.

In a regulatory filing, the company said its third-quarter operating profit and revenue are each estimated at 107.4 trillion won and 195 trillion won, respectively. If the figures are finalized when the company announces its full earnings results on Oct. 29, they would represent year-on-year increases of 782.5 percent in operating profit and 126.6 percent in sales.

Beside Samsung, no other company in the world expect for Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco has posted a quarterly operating profit exceeding that amount. Aramco reported $86.5 billion in operating profit in the second quarter of 2022.

The operating profit surpassed brokerages’ consensus estimate of 106.64 trillion won, though sales fell slightly short of the 200.64 trillion won forecast.

The earnings are particularly significant as they exceeded expectations despite concerns that the Korean won's sharp appreciation against the U.S. dollar from the previous quarter would weigh on profitability.

“Despite an unfavorable business environment caused by the sharp appreciation of the Korean won, the company’s earnings were driven by its robust pricing strategy, which once again outperformed the industry average,” Meritz Securities analyst Kim Sun-woo said.

Samsung Electronics does not provide earnings estimates by business division in its preliminary guidance, but memory chips are widely seen as the main driver behind the record operating profit.

Analysts estimate that its memory business alone generated around 110 trillion won in operating profit. The full-scale contribution of sixth-generation high bandwidth memory 4 (HBM4) sales for Nvidia's next-generation Vera Rubin artificial intelligence (AI) platform is believed to be reflected in the earnings this quarter.

Conventional DRAM products are also believed to have performed strongly. Although DRAM price increases slowed from the previous quarter, prices continued to rise at double-digit rates, likely contributing to the earnings improvement.

In particular, the growing share of long-term agreements (LTAs), which can help cushion the impact of memory price cycles, is strengthening the sustainability of Samsung's earnings growth.

The company said during its second-quarter earnings call that LTAs were increasing, and analysts believe the trend continued in the third quarter.

“Supply constraints are expected to become more evident in 2027, intensifying competition to secure memory chips amid the race toward artificial general intelligence,” Kim said. “While some business-to-consumer applications, particularly smartphones, continue to resist price increases, memory chipmakers’ ongoing production shifts to server DRAM and HBM are forcing mobile memory customers to absorb price hikes.”

In contrast, the company’s Device Experience (DX) division, which handles finished products, is expected to post an operating loss for the second consecutive quarter.

According to market tracker IDC, global smartphone shipments fell 7.4 percent in the second quarter due to memory shortages. Kim expected third-quarter shipments to fall 8 percent quarter-on-quarter to 58 million units, noting that consumers are increasingly treating electronic devices as “durable goods” and replacing them less frequently.

Meritz Securities estimated that the DX division posted an operating loss of 2.64 trillion won, while SK Securities and Mirae Asset Securities projected losses of 1.9 trillion won and 1.1 trillion won, respectively.

三星电子周四预估第三季度营业利润将达到107.4万亿韩元，创下韩国企业历史新高。该公司同时预估营收为195万亿韩元，最终业绩将于10月29日公布。包括HBM4和DRAM在内的内存芯片被普遍认为是业绩增长的主要驱动力，而设备体验部门预计将连续第二个季度出现亏损。

预计营业利润同比增长 782.5%，预计销售额达 195 万亿韩元，同比增长 126.6%。

三星的营业利润预期超过了券商普遍预期的 106.64 万亿韩元，尽管其销售额预期低于 200.64 万亿韩元的预测。

分析师估计，三星的内存业务创造了约 110 万亿韩元的营业利润，其中英伟达 Vera Rubin AI 平台的 HBM4 销售额对该季度做出了贡献。

设备体验部门预计将录得 1.1 万亿韩元至 2.64 万亿韩元的营业亏损。

第二季度全球智能手机出货量下降了 7.4%，预计第三季度出货量将环比下降 8% 至 5800 万部。

发布于2026年10月8日 上午7:55（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月8日下午4:40（韩国标准时间）

营业利润同比增长782.5%

7月30日，在京畿道水原市三星电子总部，可以看到一盏交通信号灯。（韩联社）

三星电子周四预计第三季度营业利润为 107.4 万亿韩元（802.8 亿美元），成为首家季度营业利润超过 100 万亿韩元的韩国公司。

该公司在一份监管​​文件中表示，预计其第三季度营业利润和营收分别为107.4万亿韩元和195万亿韩元。如果这些数据在10月29日该公司公布完整财报时最终确定，则意味着营业利润和销售额分别同比增长782.5%和126.6%。

除了三星之外，全球没有其他公司（沙特阿拉伯国家石油公司阿美除外）的季度营业利润超过这个数额。阿美公布2022年第二季度营业利润为865亿美元。

营业利润超过了券商普遍预期的 106.64 万亿韩元，但销售额略低于 200.64 万亿韩元的预测。

尽管人们担心韩元对美元的大幅升值会影响盈利能力，但该公司的盈利却超出了预期，这尤其令人瞩目。

“尽管韩元大幅升值导致商业环境不利，但该公司凭借其稳健的定价策略实现了盈利，再次跑赢行业平均水平，”美利证券分析师金善宇表示。

三星电子在其初步业绩指引中没有提供各业务部门的盈利预测，但存储芯片被普遍认为是创纪录营业利润的主要驱动力。

分析师估计，仅其内存业务就创造了约110万亿韩元的营业利润。据信，英伟达下一代维拉·鲁宾人工智能（AI）平台所用的第六代高带宽内存4（HBM4）的全面销售贡献已反映在本季度的收益中。

传统DRAM产品也表现强劲。尽管DRAM价格涨幅较上一季度有所放缓，但仍保持两位数的增长速度，这可能有助于提升盈利。

特别是，长期协议 (LTA) 的份额不断增长，这有助于缓冲存储器价格周期性波动的影响，从而增强三星盈利增长的可持续性。

该公司在第二季度财报电话会议上表示，长期租赁协议 (LTA) 正在增加，分析师认为这一趋势在第三季度仍在继续。

金表示：“预计到2027年，供应限制将更加明显，在人工智能竞赛中，争夺内存芯片的竞争将更加激烈。虽然一些面向消费者的应用，特别是智能手机，仍然能够承受价格上涨，但内存芯片制造商不断将生产重心转移到服务器DRAM和HBM上，迫使移动内存客户不得不接受价格上涨。”

相比之下，该公司负责成品的设备体验 (DX) 部门预计将连续第二个季度出现运营亏损。

据市场研究机构IDC的数据显示，受内存短缺影响，全球智能手机出货量在第二季度下降了7.4%。金预计第三季度出货量将环比下降8%至5800万部，并指出消费者越来越倾向于将电子设备视为“耐用品”，减少更换频率。

Meritz Securities 估计 DX 部门的营业亏损为 2.64 万亿韩元，而 SK Securities 和 Mirae Asset Securities 分别预测亏损为 1.9 万亿韩元和 1.1 万亿韩元。