Samsung Q3 Operating Profit Hits Record 107.4 Trillion Won on AI Chips

Samsung Electronics reported record third-quarter results on Oct. 29 Korea time, the evening of Oct. 28 in the U.S. Revenue was 195.3 trillion won, an all-time quarterly high and up 14% from the prior quarter, Samsung said. Operating profit was 107.4 trillion won, up from 12.2 trillion won a year earlier, Reuters reported.

Operating profit passed 100 trillion won. Samsung said it is the world's first tech company to exceed 100 trillion won in quarterly operating profit. Reuters said the figure was in line with Samsung's own estimate. Samsung's Oct. 8 guidance was about 107.4 trillion won in operating profit on about 195 trillion won in sales. Reuters put the profit at about $80 billion, per its conversion at 1,341.75 won per dollar. Samsung reports in won. The Korea Herald, citing Samsung's filing, said operating profit rose 783.1% from a year earlier and revenue rose 126.9%.

Chips drove it. Samsung's Device Solutions (DS) division, which covers memory, foundry and system chips, posted 147.1 trillion won in revenue and 106.5 trillion won in operating profit, Samsung said. Its memory business set records for quarterly revenue and operating profit, and Samsung said it "significantly scaled up sales of HBM4." Samsung said on the call, per Korean outlets, that DRAM average selling prices rose about 20% from the prior quarter and NAND prices rose in the high teens.

Other businesses were weaker. Samsung's Device eXperience division, which covers phones, TVs and appliances, posted an operating loss of 0.8 trillion won. Samsung Display earned 1.1 trillion won on 8.0 trillion won in revenue. Harman earned 0.6 trillion won on 4.3 trillion won in revenue, down 5% from the prior quarter, helped by one-off U.S. tariff refunds, according to Samsung's earnings presentation.

Spending and dividend. Samsung said third-quarter capital spending was 29 trillion won and it expects about 84.4 trillion won for 2026, including 76.8 trillion won for the DS division. It declared a dividend of 4,601 won per share, 30 trillion won in total.

Outlook. Samsung said in its release that AI-driven memory demand in 2027 "will far exceed the industry supply," and that its foundry business expects double-digit revenue growth in the fourth quarter. Samsung said on the call it expects 2027 results to surpass 2026, led by chip growth, according to Korean outlets Asia Business Daily and Newspim. Samsung also said on the call it plans to begin HBM4E mass production in the first half of 2027 and ramp in the second half, per MoneyToday.

Net profit fell short of estimates. Net profit was 75.14 trillion won per Samsung's filing, up 514.6% from a year earlier, the Korea Herald reported. Estimates vary by provider. Bloomberg TV reported net profit of 75.2 trillion won, the figure attributable to owners, against about 89.06 trillion won expected. Yonhap reported 75.13 trillion won against an Infomax average of 87.01 trillion won. Reuters, using LSEG SmartEstimate, put it at about 75 trillion won against about 84 trillion won. On operating profit, CNBC, using LSEG SmartEstimates, reported 107.44 trillion won against 107.66 trillion won expected, and revenue of 195.25 trillion won against 195.79 trillion won.

Sources: Samsung Newsroom (Q3 2026 results); Samsung Q3 2026 earnings presentation; Korea Herald; Yonhap; CNBC; Reuters (via Investing.com); Bloomberg TV; Newspim; Asia Business Daily; MoneyToday