The key facts

  • Samsung's operating profit for Q3 came to 107.4 trillion won ($80.5 billion) — up more than 780% year on year, the first time any tech company has exceeded 100 trillion won
  • Shares fell more than 5%: according to Bloomberg, the semiconductor division's profit fell short of market expectations
  • Samsung plans to return up to 110 trillion won to shareholders this year; the day before, SK hynix announced a return of 60 trillion won

A record amid AI demand

South Korea's Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chip maker, reported record quarterly profit thanks to demand for artificial intelligence components, AFP reports. Operating profit for July–September came to 107.4 trillion won ($80.5 billion) — more than 780% higher than a year earlier. The company emphasized that for the first time, any technology company had posted quarterly operating profit above 100 trillion won. Net profit rose more than 510% to 75.1 trillion won, while revenue reached 195.3 trillion won.

Why the market reacted cautiously

Despite the record, Samsung shares fell more than 5% on Thursday morning. According to Bloomberg News, investors were disappointed that the semiconductor division's profit fell short of market expectations. The race to build data centers for training and running AI systems has sharply accelerated growth for Samsung and other chipmakers, but concerns persist in the market that the sector may be overvalued. Pepperstone analyst Dillin Wo noted that the strong results from Samsung and SK hynix are 'a reminder that the AI memory boom is still very real,' but investors want to understand whether the cycle has 'another leg' or whether profit is close to its peak.

HBM shortage and plans for shareholders

The memory division was the driver of the results: according to Samsung, it achieved 'another record quarter' thanks to a product strategy focused on AI products amid limited capacity, while server demand lifted prices across all segments. A shortage of advanced HBM memory used in AI systems sent its prices soaring; at the same time, the tilt toward profitable HBM created a shortage of conventional memory for consumer electronics, pushing up prices for smartphones and laptops. CFO Park Sung-chul said at a conference that he expects 'unprecedented growth in memory demand in 2027' amid competition in building AI infrastructure, but warned of difficulties in rapidly expanding supply. Samsung also announced plans to return up to 110 trillion won to shareholders this year, including 30 trillion won in cash dividends. The day before, SK hynix announced a return of 60 trillion won after completing a 40 trillion won program. KB Securities analyst Kim Dong-won called the record expansion of payouts a 'decisive opportunity' to eliminate the company's undervaluation.