Samsung forecasts $80 billion quarterly profit as AI memory demand surges

Samsung Electronics expects to post an operating profit of 107.4 trillion won, around $80 billion, for the third quarter of 2026. That figure would make it the first technology company ever to cross the 100 trillion won mark in a single quarter. The numbers behind the record The preliminary guidance pairs that profit figure with revenue of 195 trillion won for the quarter. The year-over-year comparison is where things get a little absurd. In Q3 2025, Samsung booked an operating profit of 12.17 trillion won. Going from 12.17 trillion won to 107.4 trillion won works out to a 782.5% increase. Put more simply, the company is making nearly nine times what it made in the same quarter a year earlier. This also marks Samsung’s fourth straight record quarter. The prior high-water mark came just one quarter ago, when Q2 2026 delivered 89.49 trillion won in operating profit. Samsung’s operating margin is estimated at 55.1%, the highest in the company’s history. Where the money is coming from The heavy lifting comes from the semiconductor division, known internally as Device Solutions. Analysts estimate the unit generated around 110 trillion won in operating profit. That estimate is slightly h...