Samsung Q3 Profit Soars 31.8% on Memory Demand

On October 14, Samsung Electronics projected its Q3 2025 operating profit to reach 121 trillion KRW (about $8.5 billion), marking a 31.8% increase year-on-year and significantly surpassing analysts' forecast of 101 trillion KRW. This would be Samsung's highest single-quarter profit in over three years. The company plans to release detailed earnings, including performance across its business units, on October 30.

Analysts say Samsung's Q3 outperformance is largely driven by its semiconductor business. Total revenue for 2025 is expected to rise 8.7% year-on-year to 860 trillion KRW. Strong demand for server and AI-related chips has pushed both prices and shipments of traditional DRAM and NAND products higher. Overall semiconductor sales benefited from a combination of rising prices and increased shipment volumes.

Although advanced HBM chips are taking a larger share of the memory business, and Samsung's deliveries of HBM to key clients like NVIDIA have lagged behind expectations, the solid performance of traditional memory products has offset the impact of HBM delays.

Reuters also noted that despite slower supply of advanced HBM to major clients, the strong demand for server and AI chips allowed conventional memory sales to shine, further supporting Samsung's overall profitability.

In recent years, memory manufacturers have shifted investment toward advanced products such as HBM, limiting production of traditional memory chips. This trend has extended supply shortages and driven up prices for chips used in AI servers. According to TrendForce, certain DRAM chips widely used in servers, smartphones, and PCs surged 171.8% in Q3 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.

Beyond memory, Samsung's foundry business has narrowed its losses thanks to higher capacity utilization, easing fixed-cost pressures. Additionally, recent agreements with major tech companies, including Tesla and OpenAI, have helped reassure investors.

On the capital markets front, Samsung's stock has surged 75% in 2025, reaching historic highs.