SEOUL— Samsung Electronics reported a steep 48 percent drop in net income for the second quarter of 2025, as its semiconductor division posted its weakest performance in over a year due to tepid demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.
In a regulatory filing, the South Korean tech giant said its net profit for the April–June period fell to 5.11 trillion won (approximately $3.7 billion), down from 9.84 trillion won a year earlier. The results missed analyst expectations, which had projected an average net profit of 7.29 trillion won, according to Yonhap Infomax.
Operating profit declined 55.2 percent year-on-year to 4.67 trillion won, while revenue inched up 0.7 percent to 74.56 trillion won.
Samsung’s semiconductor division recorded 400 billion won in operating profit—its lowest since Q4 2023, when it reported a 2 trillion-won loss. The company attributed the weak showing to one-time costs, including inventory value adjustments. Still, chip sales rose 11 percent year-over-year to 27.9 trillion won, driven by demand for premium server chips and increased foundry orders.
Sales in the memory segment remained stable thanks to continued shipments of HBM3E products and memory chips for data center servers. However, the System LSI (fabless) segment continued to underperform, and the foundry business was hit by inventory adjustments stemming from U.S. sanctions on AI chip exports to China.
Samsung’s DX (Device eXperience) division—which includes mobile, TV, and home appliances—saw a 16 percent drop in sales to 43.6 trillion won, while reporting 3.3 trillion won in operating profit.
The mobile segment brought in 29.2 trillion won in revenue and 3.1 trillion won in operating profit, driven by strong sales of its Galaxy S25 series smartphones. The TV business improved sales of premium Neo QLED and OLED models, though overall earnings declined amid soft consumer demand and intensifying market competition.
Looking ahead, Samsung said it expects a recovery in the global IT sector in the second half, led by advancements in AI and robotics, though trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainties remain risks.
The chip division will prioritize high-value, AI-focused products like HBM and advanced semiconductors, while ramping up production of high-density, high-performance SSDs for AI data centers.
Meanwhile, the mobile unit aims to sustain momentum with its latest foldable smartphones launched earlier this month.
Analysts remain cautiously optimistic, anticipating a rebound in Samsung’s earnings in the latter half of the year. (Source: IANS)
