Seoul — Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday estimated its second-quarter operating profit at nearly 90 trillion won, or about $58.8 billion, as strong demand for artificial intelligence-related semiconductors lifted earnings.
The South Korean technology giant said operating profit for the April-June period is expected to reach 89.4 trillion won, up 1,181 percent from a year earlier, according to its earnings guidance, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The estimate beat the average market forecast by 6.2 percent, according to Yonhap Infomax, the financial data arm of Yonhap News Agency.
The outlook includes provisions for employee bonuses. Excluding those provisions, Samsung’s quarterly operating profit is estimated to have reached about 100 trillion won.
Under a wage agreement reached in May, Samsung will grant a special semiconductor performance bonus equal to 10.5 percent of business performance earnings. The bonuses will be paid in company stock over at least 10 years and tied to performance targets for the company’s semiconductor business.
The provision for the bonuses is estimated at about 20 trillion won.
Samsung Electronics posted an operating profit of 43.6 trillion won for all of 2025. The estimated second-quarter profit alone is more than double the company’s full-year operating profit last year.
Second-quarter revenue is estimated to have increased 129.3 percent from a year earlier to 171 trillion won. Net profit was not included in the earnings guidance.
If confirmed, Samsung Electronics will have posted record quarterly revenue and operating profit for a third consecutive quarter since the fourth quarter of last year.
Samsung did not provide a detailed earnings breakdown by business division, but its device solutions unit, which includes semiconductors, is believed to have accounted for a dominant share of the results.
The strong performance is being attributed to continued global investment in AI infrastructure, which has intensified semiconductor supply shortages and kept memory chip prices elevated.
Industry observers expect favorable market conditions to continue at least through next year.
Samsung has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI supercycle, supported by the world’s largest memory chip production capacity.
Although some analysts have raised concerns that the semiconductor industry’s rapid growth could peak in the near future, Samsung has continued to sign long-term supply agreements with major technology companies while expanding production capacity to meet expected medium- and long-term demand.
The company has also expanded sales of higher-value products by becoming the first in the industry to begin mass production and shipments of sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory chips.
Memory chipmakers are prioritizing high-end products to meet surging demand from AI data centers, tightening supplies of conventional DRAM and NAND flash products as well.
Analysts expect the supply shortage to persist at least through 2027, strengthening the pricing power of Samsung and rivals SK Hynix Inc. and Micron Technology Inc.
By contrast, Samsung’s device experience unit, which includes consumer electronics and mobile businesses, is expected to have posted relatively weak results.
Reflecting the improved outlook for Samsung’s semiconductor business, the consensus forecast for the company’s full-year operating profit has risen to 37.4 trillion won from 36.6 trillion won, according to Yonhap Infomax.
Samsung is expected to release its final earnings report later this month. (Source: IANS)
