Samsung sees record $80B profit as AI chip demand drives global shortage
Samsung Electronics projects a quarterly operating profit of 107.4 trillion won ($80.17 billion) for July-September, nearly nine times higher than a year ago and the highest ever recorded by a tech firm. The forecast, announced Thursday, exceeds the LSEG SmartEstimate average of 106.1 trillion won and would mark Samsung’s fourth straight quarter of record profit. The surge is driven by booming demand for memory chips, especially high-bandwidth memory (HBM) needed for AI infrastructure, which has tightened supplies of conventional DRAM and NAND and pushed prices up. Samsung expects memory-chip revenue to rise 127% year-on-year to 195 trillion won, and says the global memory supply imbalance may last until 2028, though rising Chinese competition and a possible slowdown in AI spending pose longer-term risks. Samsung’s shares were little changed in early trade, down 0.2%, and remain more than 25% below their June peak as investors question the durability of the AI boom. The company will release detailed Q3 results on October 29 and discuss its shareholder return policy later this month. Earlier Nairametrics reports warned that global memory shortages could raise smartphone prices in Nigeria, and that Samsung has secured a $16.5 billion deal to produce AI semiconductors for Tesla, strengthening its foundry business against TSMC. Will you budget for higher gadget costs, explore opportunities in Nigeria’s growing AI-related tech sector, or watch how Samsung’s earnings call shapes global chip market outlook?