Samsung Q1 Profit Surges 755% to $37.9B, Hits Record High

According to Samsung Electronics, the company reported a significant surge in first-quarter performance, with operating profit rising sharply and far exceeding market expectations, underscoring strong demand for AI-driven memory chips despite geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East.

Preliminary results show that Samsung’s operating profit reached KRW 57.2 trillion (approximately USD 37.9 billion), marking a 755% year-on-year increase and a record high. This figure substantially surpassed analysts’ consensus estimate of KRW 39.3 trillion. Revenue also climbed to KRW 133 trillion, ahead of the expected KRW 116.8 trillion.

Industry analysts attribute the strong performance primarily to the memory segment. Sanjeev Rana, Head of Korea Research at CLSA, noted that memory likely contributed nearly 90% of total operating profit, driven by exceptionally tight supply conditions in both high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and conventional DRAM products.

The company’s quarterly profit not only exceeded previous quarters but also surpassed its full-year 2025 forecast of KRW 43.6 trillion. Supporting this trend, official data showed that South Korea’s semiconductor exports surged by 151.4% in March, reaching a record USD 32.8 billion.

Demand from cloud service providers continues to accelerate, particularly for HBM and other data center-oriented chips used in artificial intelligence applications. This surge in AI infrastructure investment is driving higher sales volumes and improved margins across the semiconductor value chain.

Analysts remain optimistic about Samsung’s outlook, largely dismissing concerns that emerging AI efficiency technologies could weaken memory demand. A recent report from Citi highlighted that global DRAM average selling prices rose 64% quarter-on-quarter in Q1, reflecting ongoing supply-demand imbalance. Citi forecasts Samsung’s annual operating profit could reach KRW 310 trillion (approximately USD 206 billion) in 2026, supported by sustained growth in AI inference demand and continued pricing strength in the memory market.