Samsung Electronics has forecast a dramatic jump in earnings, with quarterly operating profit expected to more than triple to an all-time high, driven by booming global demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
South Korea’s biggest company said preliminary operating profit for the December quarter reached 20 trillion won ($13.8bn), marking a 208% increase from a year earlier and comfortably exceeding market expectations. Revenue climbed 23% to a record 93 trillion won, highlighting the scale of the rebound in the semiconductor cycle.
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| Samsung profit set to triple as AI chip demand soars |
Investors responded positively, pushing Samsung shares up as much as 2.5% in early Seoul trading on Thursday. The stock has already risen around 20% since the start of the year. Shares of rival memory-chip maker SK Hynix also jumped more than 6%.
The strong performance reflects a sharp rise in memory-chip prices as Samsung and other manufacturers shift production toward high-end components used in AI servers. Technology giants building massive data centres for generative AI have soaked up supplies of advanced chips, creating shortages of conventional memory used in laptops and standard servers.
Industry analysts say hyperscale cloud providers are willing to pay premium prices to secure enough memory. Average selling prices for DRAM surged by more than 30% quarter-on-quarter in the December period, while NAND prices rose roughly 20%. Analysts expect tight supply conditions to keep prices elevated through 2026 and possibly into early 2027.
Samsung’s market value has more than doubled over the past year, fuelled by optimism that AI-related demand will underpin earnings growth. That confidence has strengthened after upbeat forecasts from US rival Micron Technology, prompting several analysts to raise their price targets for Samsung in recent days.
Beyond data centres, demand for memory is also expanding into new areas such as humanoid robots, autonomous vehicles and consumer devices marketed with on-device AI features. Market watchers say these trends suggest the current upcycle still has room to run.
Samsung is set to release its full financial results, including net income and business division breakdowns, on 29 January. Speaking earlier this week at the CES technology show, company executives warned that semiconductor supply constraints are already pushing up consumer electronics prices.
Research firm Counterpoint expects prices for DDR5 memory — widely used in computers and servers — to rise about 40% in the current quarter, followed by another 20% increase in the next quarter.
Samsung is also seeking to strengthen its position in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a critical component for AI accelerators. The company delivered advanced HBM4 samples to Nvidia last year for testing, raising expectations it could narrow the gap with competitors as mass production ramps up to support Nvidia’s next-generation processors.
Analysts predict Samsung’s HBM shipments could triple in 2026 if commercial supply of HBM4 begins on schedule, potentially adding another powerful growth driver to its semiconductor business.
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