Samsung Q2 Profit Forecast and Market Reaction
Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) forecast operating profit of 89.4 trillion won (approximately $58.43 billion) for the quarter ended 30 June, representing a more‑than‑19‑fold increase from 4.68 trillion won a year earlier. The estimate beats Bloomberg’s consensus of 84.2 trillion won and would be Samsung’s largest quarterly profit on record, marking the third consecutive quarter of record earnings.
Financial Highlights
- Revenue is expected to more than double to 171 trillion won, up from 74.57 trillion won a year earlier, but slightly below analysts’ expectation of 173.3 trillion won.
- The profit surge is driven primarily by AI‑fueled demand for high‑bandwidth memory and conventional DRAM, which has tightened supply and lifted memory prices across the board.
- Samsung remains a major supplier to NVIDIA Corporation and is using NVIDIA’s AI GPUs to build its own data‑center capacity.
- The core memory business is identified as the main profit driver for the quarter.
- The foundry segment is projected to record a loss due to increased bonus expenses following a major payout to workers in May.
- The smartphone and consumer‑electronics divisions face headwinds from rising memory costs, which are expected to dampen consumer demand.
- Samsung announced that it will release its full second‑quarter earnings on 30 July.
Market Impact
- Following the profit forecast, Samsung’s shares declined as much as 8 %, despite having more than doubled year‑to‑date in 2026.
- The KOSPI index, where Samsung is a heavyweight, slid over 6 %, and rival SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) fell 7 %.
- High leverage in local markets, particularly through exchange‑traded funds, has contributed to sharp swings in Samsung’s share price in recent months.