South Korea's technology giant Samsung expects an exceptionally strong third quarter driven by AI-related demand. The company forecasted an operating profit of 107.4 trillion won for Q3 — almost nine times the 12.17 trillion won recorded a year earlier — and above the market consensus of 106.1 trillion won.
Samsung projected quarterly revenue of 195 trillion won, slightly below analysts' expected 199.6 trillion won. Still, the company is on track for a fourth consecutive record quarter based on these preliminary figures.
What's behind the jump?
The primary driver is a global wave of data center construction tied to the race for artificial intelligence. Demand for memory chips has surged — not only high-bandwidth HBM used specifically for AI workloads, but also conventional DRAM and NAND memory used in servers, computers and smartphones. By revenue, Samsung is currently the world’s largest memory-chip maker.
Samsung warned that the supply situation may not meaningfully ease before 2027. To secure returns on large investments in new manufacturing capacity, the company is pursuing long-term supply contracts with major data center operators.
Capacity constraints affect other businesses too
The tight manufacturing capacity could also increase prices in Samsung's contract manufacturing business; industry sources say Samsung may charge higher fees for foundry and contract production. Analysts already expect that this segment could become profitable sooner than the company previously planned, possibly as early as next year.
Memory price trends and market forecasts
Although the pace of memory-price increases has moderated in recent months — raising questions whether AI-driven margins have peaked — market forecasts do not predict a collapse. TrendForce expects memory prices to rise another 10–15 percent by year-end compared with Q3, a slower pace than the roughly 60 percent increases seen in some memory types between April and June. Price growth is partly tempered by an increase in long-term contracts that sometimes include price caps.
Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers are gaining stronger footholds in the DRAM and NAND markets, affecting supply dynamics.
Higher chip costs impact Samsung's own products
The memory-price rally creates an internal paradox for Samsung: while semiconductors are highly profitable, rising memory costs increase production expenses for the company’s smartphones and consumer electronics, potentially compressing margins in those divisions. Currency effects from a strengthening South Korean won also weigh on converted overseas revenue.
Despite these headwinds, chipmakers are reaping substantial rewards: Samsung plans record payouts to shareholders this year, approximately 73 billion euros in total, and employees secured significantly larger bonuses in the spring.
Samsung will publish its full third-quarter results on October 29. Based on the preliminary numbers, AI-driven infrastructure buildout continues to generate extraordinary demand for memory chips, and until manufacturing capacity catches up, the AI boom is likely to remain a highly profitable business for Samsung.
