Key Highlights
- Samsung Electronics anticipates Q1 2026 operating profit of 57.2 trillion won ($37.8 billion), representing an over 700% increase compared to the previous year.
- First-quarter revenue is projected to climb almost 70% to 133 trillion won for the three-month period ending March.
- Explosive growth stems from unprecedented demand for artificial intelligence chips, creating widespread memory chip shortages and driving substantial price increases.
- The company has made significant progress catching up to competitor SK Hynix in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) sector, delivering HBM4 products to Nvidia starting in February.
- Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East present potential challenges, threatening supplies of essential chipmaking materials such as helium and potentially increasing energy expenses.
Samsung Electronics has announced preliminary Q1 2026 operating profit of 57.2 trillion won — representing more than a sevenfold increase versus the comparable quarter last year — substantially exceeding analyst projections of approximately 40–42 trillion won based on LSEG SmartEstimate data.
Upon final confirmation, this figure would approach triple Samsung’s prior record quarterly profit of 20 trillion won, achieved in Q4 of last year. The projected earnings would also surpass the company’s combined operating profit for the entire 2025 fiscal year.
Quarterly revenue is anticipated to reach 133 trillion won, marking a 68% increase year-over-year. Samsung will provide complete financial details when it releases comprehensive earnings on April 30.
The extraordinary performance was primarily fueled by Samsung’s memory semiconductor division. Booming demand for AI infrastructure has triggered widespread shortages throughout the memory market, causing dramatic price escalation. According to TrendForce, a leading research firm, contract DRAM prices are projected to increase by more than 50% during the current quarter.
An industry analyst from Meritz Securities projected that Samsung’s memory chip segment alone generated approximately 54 trillion won in operating profit during the quarter. Meanwhile, its logic chip operations recorded losses near 1.6 trillion won. The mobile business contributed roughly 4 trillion won in profit, representing a modest decline from the year-ago period.
Closing the High-Bandwidth Memory Technology Gap
Twelve months ago, Samsung’s chief executive made a rare public statement acknowledging the company’s disappointing financial results and its competitive disadvantage versus rival SK Hynix in delivering high-bandwidth memory chips to Nvidia. That competitive disparity has begun narrowing considerably.
Samsung initiated shipments of its newest HBM4 chip technology to Nvidia in February. Despite this progress, HBM chips represented under 10% of Samsung’s DRAM chip revenue during Q1, per Heungkuk Securities analysis. The majority of the earnings explosion originated from conventional DRAM demand propelled by AI inference applications, which have intensified shortages across standard memory products.
Heungkuk Securities analysts forecast Samsung’s total operating profit will achieve another milestone of 75 trillion won in Q2, supported by anticipated DRAM price increases exceeding 30%.
The corporation has also gained from a depreciated South Korean won, which is trading near its weakest level versus the U.S. dollar in 17 years. This currency situation has enhanced the value of overseas earnings when converted back to won.
Geopolitical Tensions Create Industry Headwinds
The continuing U.S.-Israel military conflict with Iran has surfaced as a potential threat to the semiconductor sector. Supply chain disruptions affecting materials essential to chip production — particularly helium — could impact manufacturing capacity at firms like Samsung and SK Hynix.
Elevated energy prices linked to the regional conflict have also sparked concerns about potential moderation in AI data center demand during the latter half of the year.
Spot DRAM prices declined modestly last week, with TrendForce observing that customer demand was encountering difficulty absorbing the heightened price levels. Google’s introduction of TurboQuant, a memory-optimization technology, in March created additional downward pressure, contributing to a market correction that has reduced Samsung’s share price by approximately 9% since hostilities commenced on February 28.
Nevertheless, Samsung’s equity remains up more than 60% year-to-date in 2026, building on a 125% appreciation in 2025.
Competitor SK Hynix shares advanced 3.4% higher in Tuesday trading.
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