Samsung Posts Record Q2 Profit as AI Chip Demand Drives Memory Sales

Samsung Electronics posted a record second-quarter operating profit of 89.5 trillion won, surpassing the 88.13 trillion won consensus estimate compiled by LSEG SmartEstimates. The South Korean technology giant reported revenue of 171.5 trillion won, which fell slightly short of the 172.65 trillion won forecast but remained fully aligned with the company’s own guidance issued earlier this month.

These financial results represent a staggering 1,814 percent year-on-year increase in operating profit, accompanied by a 130 percent surge in top-line revenue. On a sequential quarterly basis, operating profit jumped more than 56 percent, while revenue climbed over 28 percent.

Management attributed this exceptional performance to robust demand from artificial intelligence servers, which propelled both DRAM and NAND sales to all-time highs. To meet this demand, the company has actively scaled up sales of its HBM4 chips and recently shipped the industry’s first HBM4E samples to major clients.

This sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory is specifically engineered to power advanced artificial intelligence processors, including Nvidia’s Vera Rubin Platform. Such specialized components are becoming increasingly critical as global data centers aggressively expand their computational capabilities.

Looking toward the second half of the year, Samsung anticipates sustained memory demand centered primarily on server infrastructure. The company expects accelerating growth for server DRAM, enterprise SSDs, and high-bandwidth memory as capital expenditure on AI infrastructure continues alongside the broader market adoption of agentic AI.

Enterprise SSDs serve as high-performance storage devices designed to deliver data rapidly, making them essential to modern AI infrastructure. Meanwhile, DRAM chips remain foundational across a wide spectrum of electronic devices, ranging from everyday smartphones to massive server farms.

The strong performance highlights a sector-wide boom in AI hardware, though competitors are experiencing varying degrees of forecast alignment. Domestic rival SK Hynix also reported a record second-quarter profit on Wednesday, albeit missing analyst estimates.

Beyond its memory chip dominance, Samsung is actively leveraging its broader semiconductor portfolio to capture additional market share. Last week, the company unveiled a new lineup of foldable smartphones and announced an expanded strategic collaboration with Broadcom spanning memory and foundry technologies.