Corporate Logo(source: samsung.com)
Samsung Electronics (005930) reported a surprise jump in third-quarter earnings, posting an operating profit in the 12 trillion won range — far above market expectations — as the company fully recovered from its sluggish performance in the previous quarter.
The stock surged to 96,000 won during morning trading, marking its highest level in three years.
Quarterly revenue also surpassed the 80 trillion won mark for the first time, reaching 86 trillion won, setting a new all-time record.
The rebound was driven largely by a sharp recovery in the semiconductor division, which is estimated to have generated up to 6 trillion won in operating profit, leading the company’s overall turnaround.
Samsung Electronics announced on October 14 that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter came to 12.1 trillion won, up 31.81% from a year earlier.
Operating profit surged 158.55% from 4.68 trillion won in the previous quarter, marking a return to double-digit trillions for the first time in five quarters since Q2 2023 (10.44 trillion won). It was also the highest quarterly profit since Q2 2022 (14.1 trillion won).
Revenue rose 8.72% year-on-year and 15.33% quarter-on-quarter to 86 trillion won, the largest in the company’s history and the first time quarterly sales have exceeded the 80 trillion won mark. The previous record was 79.1 trillion won in Q3 2023.
The results far outpaced market expectations, beating analysts’ consensus by 17.4%. According to a compilation by Yonhap Infomax of forecasts from 17 brokerages published over the past month, Samsung’s third-quarter operating profit had been expected to increase 12.21% year-on-year to 10.3043 trillion won.
Earlier estimates over the past three months had hovered around 9.8 trillion won, but continued memory price gains and narrowing losses in the non-memory segment lifted expectations ahead of the results.
While the company did not release segment-specific figures, analysts estimate that the Device Solutions (DS) division, which includes the semiconductor business, recorded around 6 trillion won in operating profit — a sharp rebound from 400 billion won in Q2.
The DS division had suffered heavy inventory write-downs in the second quarter due to U.S.-China trade restrictions, cutting profits in half from the previous year. However, the third quarter saw a strong recovery driven by continued price increases in DRAM chips, higher shipments of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and reduced losses in the non-memory business.
Jung Min-kyu, an analyst at Sangsangin Securities, said, “The DS division is expected to have led the overall earnings recovery. DRAM shipments and average selling prices (ASP) rose thanks to strong server demand and an improved HBM product mix. Foundry operations are also expected to show significant loss improvement due to higher utilization rates and yield gains.”
Losses in the non-memory segment, which exceeded 2 trillion won for three consecutive quarters, were estimated to have narrowed sharply to around 1 trillion won this quarter as foundry utilization improved.
Other divisions also posted solid results. The Mobile eXperience (MX) and Networks businesses reportedly earned around 3 trillion won in operating profit, supported by strong sales of new foldable smartphones. The Display unit is estimated to have earned between 1.1 trillion and 1.2 trillion won, TV and Home Appliances between 300 billion and 400 billion won, and Harman between 900 billion and 1 trillion won.
Analysts expect Samsung’s earnings momentum, led by semiconductors, to continue through the coming quarters. Demand for server memory driven by AI adoption remains strong, and the company is poised to expand its supply of high-performance HBM chips — a product segment in which it previously lagged behind competitors.
Recently, Samsung signed an agreement to supply large volumes of high-performance, low-power memory chips for OpenAI’s massive $500 billion “Stargate” AI data center project.
In addition, its partner AMD’s contract to supply GPUs to OpenAI is expected to further boost HBM demand for Samsung. The company is also nearing mass production of its fifth-generation HBM3E chips and progressing smoothly with qualification for the sixth-generation HBM4.
Ryu Young-ho, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said, “As Samsung secures a wider range of HBM clients, it is expected to record the highest growth rate among the three major memory makers next year. The continued strength in general-purpose memory prices will also positively impact HBM contracts.”
He added, “The MX division should maintain solid profitability on the back of strong flagship sales, while the display business will benefit from seasonal demand. The non-memory business is expected to reduce its losses further with higher utilization rates.”
*[KOSPI]Samsung Electronics(005930) is the top company in the KOSPI, dominating the global market in semiconductors and smartphones. Its market capitalization is 551.691 trillion (as of Octorber 13, 2025, closing price).
Corporate Logo(source: samsung.com)
Samsung Electronics (005930) reported a surprise jump in third-quarter earnings, posting an operating profit in the 12 trillion won range — far above market expectations — as the company fully recovered from its sluggish performance in the previous quarter.
The stock surged to 96,000 won during morning trading, marking its highest level in three years.
Quarterly revenue also surpassed the 80 trillion won mark for the first time, reaching 86 trillion won, setting a new all-time record.
The rebound was driven largely by a sharp recovery in the semiconductor division, which is estimated to have generated up to 6 trillion won in operating profit, leading the company’s overall turnaround.
Samsung Electronics announced on October 14 that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter came to 12.1 trillion won, up 31.81% from a year earlier.
Operating profit surged 158.55% from 4.68 trillion won in the previous quarter, marking a return to double-digit trillions for the first time in five quarters since Q2 2023 (10.44 trillion won). It was also the highest quarterly profit since Q2 2022 (14.1 trillion won).
Revenue rose 8.72% year-on-year and 15.33% quarter-on-quarter to 86 trillion won, the largest in the company’s history and the first time quarterly sales have exceeded the 80 trillion won mark. The previous record was 79.1 trillion won in Q3 2023.
The results far outpaced market expectations, beating analysts’ consensus by 17.4%. According to a compilation by Yonhap Infomax of forecasts from 17 brokerages published over the past month, Samsung’s third-quarter operating profit had been expected to increase 12.21% year-on-year to 10.3043 trillion won.
Earlier estimates over the past three months had hovered around 9.8 trillion won, but continued memory price gains and narrowing losses in the non-memory segment lifted expectations ahead of the results.
While the company did not release segment-specific figures, analysts estimate that the Device Solutions (DS) division, which includes the semiconductor business, recorded around 6 trillion won in operating profit — a sharp rebound from 400 billion won in Q2.
The DS division had suffered heavy inventory write-downs in the second quarter due to U.S.-China trade restrictions, cutting profits in half from the previous year. However, the third quarter saw a strong recovery driven by continued price increases in DRAM chips, higher shipments of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and reduced losses in the non-memory business.
Jung Min-kyu, an analyst at Sangsangin Securities, said, “The DS division is expected to have led the overall earnings recovery. DRAM shipments and average selling prices (ASP) rose thanks to strong server demand and an improved HBM product mix. Foundry operations are also expected to show significant loss improvement due to higher utilization rates and yield gains.”
Losses in the non-memory segment, which exceeded 2 trillion won for three consecutive quarters, were estimated to have narrowed sharply to around 1 trillion won this quarter as foundry utilization improved.
Other divisions also posted solid results. The Mobile eXperience (MX) and Networks businesses reportedly earned around 3 trillion won in operating profit, supported by strong sales of new foldable smartphones. The Display unit is estimated to have earned between 1.1 trillion and 1.2 trillion won, TV and Home Appliances between 300 billion and 400 billion won, and Harman between 900 billion and 1 trillion won.
Analysts expect Samsung’s earnings momentum, led by semiconductors, to continue through the coming quarters. Demand for server memory driven by AI adoption remains strong, and the company is poised to expand its supply of high-performance HBM chips — a product segment in which it previously lagged behind competitors.
Recently, Samsung signed an agreement to supply large volumes of high-performance, low-power memory chips for OpenAI’s massive $500 billion “Stargate” AI data center project.
In addition, its partner AMD’s contract to supply GPUs to OpenAI is expected to further boost HBM demand for Samsung. The company is also nearing mass production of its fifth-generation HBM3E chips and progressing smoothly with qualification for the sixth-generation HBM4.
Ryu Young-ho, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said, “As Samsung secures a wider range of HBM clients, it is expected to record the highest growth rate among the three major memory makers next year. The continued strength in general-purpose memory prices will also positively impact HBM contracts.”
He added, “The MX division should maintain solid profitability on the back of strong flagship sales, while the display business will benefit from seasonal demand. The non-memory business is expected to reduce its losses further with higher utilization rates.”
*[KOSPI]Samsung Electronics(005930) is the top company in the KOSPI, dominating the global market in semiconductors and smartphones. Its market capitalization is 551.691 trillion (as of Octorber 13, 2025, closing price).