Samsung Quarterly Profit Seen Topping 100 Trillion Won as AI Reshapes Memory Supply
Brokerage estimates point to a record third-quarter operating profit for Samsung Electronics as high-bandwidth memory production and AI data-center demand tighten supplies of conventional DRAM.
Samsung Electronics is projected to report quarterly operating profit above 100 trillion won for the first time, as the artificial intelligence boom changes how memory manufacturers allocate production capacity and sustains unusually strong margins.
Estimates from DB Securities, Mirae Asset Securities and BNK Securities put the company’s third-quarter operating profit at an average 107.7 trillion won, equivalent to about $74 billion. That would represent a 20.3 percent increase from 89.4 trillion won in the second quarter. The figures remain analyst forecasts rather than company results.
The projected performance is being driven by Samsung’s semiconductor operations. The three brokerages estimate that the operating margin at the Device Solutions division, which oversees the chip business, could reach between 72 and 75 percent. They also see the operating margin for dynamic random-access memory, including high-bandwidth memory and conventional products, exceeding 80 percent.
Strong profitability is expected even as the pace of memory price increases moderates. Market researcher TrendForce forecasts that DRAM prices will rise 13 to 18 percent from the previous quarter in the third quarter, compared with an increase of about 60 percent in the second quarter.
The supply structure is playing a central role. Samsung and rival memory producers are assigning more advanced DRAM capacity to high-bandwidth memory and high-capacity server products used in AI infrastructure. That leaves less capacity for conventional DRAM at the same time that investment in AI data centers is lifting demand for server-grade DDR5 memory.
Kim Dong-won, head of research at KB Securities, expects high-bandwidth memory to account for 40 percent of Samsung’s total DRAM capacity next year, up from 33 percent this year. Over the same period, the conventional DRAM share is projected to decline to 59 percent from 65 percent.
The reallocation is also affecting delivery schedules. Lead times for high-capacity server DDR5 have extended to as much as 52 weeks this month, compared with roughly six weeks under normal market conditions, according to Kim.
The forecasts suggest the current memory cycle differs from earlier upswings, when higher prices prompted capacity expansion that eventually restored supply and brought prices down. Because additional capacity is increasingly directed toward high-bandwidth memory, new investment may not quickly ease shortages in conventional products. Samsung’s final reported results will determine whether the company reaches the projected profit milestone.