South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics has reported the biggest quarterly profit in its history, powered by soaring global demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence.
The company posted an operating profit of 107.44 trillion won (about $80 billion) for the July–September quarter, up 783% from a year earlier. Revenue also hit a record 195.25 trillion won, up nearly 127%. According to The Korea Times, it is the first time any technology company has passed 100 trillion won in quarterly operating profit.
AI Memory Chips Drive the Boom
Almost all of Samsung’s profit came from its semiconductor business. The Device Solutions division made 106.5 trillion won in operating profit on 147.1 trillion won in sales, about 99% of the company’s total profit, according to the Seoul Economic Daily.
Memory chip revenue jumped 427% to 140.7 trillion won, as tech companies racing to build AI data centres bought huge volumes of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and server DRAM. Sales of Samsung’s latest HBM4 chips expanded strongly during the quarter. The company’s operating margin reached an extraordinary 55%.
Smartphone Business in the Red
Not every part of Samsung shared in the boom. Its Device eXperience division, which makes Galaxy smartphones, TVs and home appliances, posted an operating loss of 800 billion won on 52.1 trillion won in sales, its second straight quarterly loss. Rising memory and raw material prices have squeezed margins on devices, meaning the same chip boom that lifted profits also made Samsung’s own phones more expensive to build.
The results could have implications for phone prices worldwide, including in markets like Nigeria where Samsung Galaxy devices are popular.
Massive ₩30 Trillion Dividend
Samsung’s board approved a third-quarter dividend of about 30 trillion won (roughly $22.5 billion), or 4,601 won per share, more than 12 times the roughly 370 won paid in each of the first two quarters. The dividend will be paid on 27 November.
The company said it plans to return a total of 90 to 110 trillion won to shareholders in 2026 through dividends and share buybacks. Despite the record figures, Samsung’s shares slipped about 2% on Thursday, according to the Seoul Economic Daily, with some investors saying the profit fell slightly short of their expectations.
Spending Big on the Future
Samsung plans capital expenditure of 84.4 trillion won in 2026, with 76.8 trillion won going to its chip business, as it races rivals such as SK Hynix and Micron to supply the next generation of AI memory.
Sources: The Korea Times, Seoul Economic Daily, SBS, CNBC. Image: Wikimedia Commons (file photo).