Samsung Expects Record 107.4 Trillion Won Q3 Profit

Samsung Electronics said Thursday that it expects third-quarter operating profit to reach 107.4 trillion won, nearly nine times the 12.17 trillion won reported a year earlier, as demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence infrastructure lifted earnings. The preliminary figure would mark the company’s fourth consecutive quarterly record and its first quarter above 100 trillion won, according to the reported results. The guidance for the July-September period is close to analyst estimates, though forecasts varied. A LSEG SmartEstimate based on 21 analysts put operating profit at 106.1 trillion won, while a FnGuide compilation had an estimate of 108.1 trillion won. These were forecasts, not reported results. Samsung has said it will provide a more detailed earnings release later in October; the preliminary guidance does not include a breakdown by business division. Memory chips are the main driver identified in the reports. Demand from AI data centers has supported sales of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, as well as conventional DRAM and enterprise storage products.