Samsung Electronics delivered another historic performance in the second quarter, posting record revenue and operating profit as booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips continued to drive the global semiconductor industry.
The company said Tuesday that preliminary consolidated revenue for the April-June period reached KRW 171 trillion ($124 billion), while operating profit surged to KRW 89.4 trillion ($65 billion). Revenue rose 129.3% from a year earlier, and operating profit jumped 1,810.3%, exceeding market expectations by more than 6%.
The results mark Samsung's third consecutive quarter of record-high revenue and operating profit, extending an unprecedented earnings streak fueled by the AI semiconductor supercycle.
The scale of the earnings is remarkable even by global standards.
Samsung's second-quarter operating profit alone exceeded the company's entire operating profit for last year, which totaled KRW 43.6 trillion. It also surpassed the combined operating profit Samsung generated over the previous three years—from 2023 through 2025—which amounted to KRW 82.9 trillion.
Among global technology companies, few have reported quarterly operating profits of this magnitude. Nvidia's record quarterly operating profit stands at roughly $53.5 billion, while Apple's is approximately $50.9 billion. The only larger quarterly operating profit on record was reported by Saudi Aramco, which earned $86.5 billion during the oil price surge following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.
Industry analysts noted that Samsung achieved the record despite recognizing nearly KRW 20 trillion in performance bonus provisions over the past two quarters. Excluding those costs, second-quarter operating profit would likely have exceeded KRW 100 trillion, with some analysts estimating it could have approached KRW 110 trillion.
Although Samsung did not disclose divisional earnings, the company's Device Solutions (DS) division, which oversees semiconductor operations, is widely believed to have generated the overwhelming majority of operating profit.
The performance reflects continued expansion in global AI infrastructure investment, which has tightened semiconductor supply and driven memory prices sharply higher.
Demand has broadened beyond High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) products to include conventional DRAM and NAND flash as AI applications expand from generative AI into physical AI, autonomous systems, and large-scale AI infrastructure.
Samsung has also benefited from its position as the world's largest memory chip manufacturer, enabling it to capture rising demand while maintaining high production volumes.
The company recently became the first in the industry to begin mass production and shipment of sixth-generation HBM4 memory, further increasing the proportion of high-value-added products in its portfolio.
Despite recent concerns that the semiconductor industry's rapid growth could begin to slow, Samsung continues to strengthen its long-term outlook by securing long-term supply agreements with major global technology companies and expanding production capacity.
Reflecting the improved earnings outlook, market forecasts for Samsung's full-year operating profit have continued to rise, with consensus estimates climbing to around KRW 374 trillion.
In contrast, the Device eXperience (DX) division, which includes smartphones, televisions, and home appliances, is expected to have remained under pressure due to rising component costs.
Brokerages estimate that the Mobile eXperience (MX) and Networks businesses generated operating profit of KRW 500 billion to KRW 1 trillion, while the Visual Display (VD) and Digital Appliances (DA) businesses likely earned less than KRW 100 billion during the quarter.
Samsung Display is estimated to have posted operating profit of roughly KRW 500 billion, while automotive electronics subsidiary Harman likely earned between KRW 200 billion and KRW 300 billion.
Analysts expect the AI-driven semiconductor boom to continue well into next year, with sustained investment in data centers and next-generation AI platforms supporting robust demand for high-performance memory products. They also noted that Samsung's record-breaking quarter underscores the growing strategic importance of memory semiconductors in the AI era, positioning the company to remain one of the industry's biggest beneficiaries.
