Samsung earns record-breaking $80 billion profit, thanks to the rise of AI

Samsung Electronics has announced its earnings estimates for the third quarter of this year. During Q3 2026, the South Korean firm earned a record-breaking KRW 107.4 trillion (~$79.8 billion) profit on revenue of KRW 195 trillion (~$144.9 billion).

These are just the company's estimates. The final figures, which could vary slightly, will be announced later this month. Its operating profit for Q3 2026 is 20% higher than the previous quarter, which was already significantly higher than Q1 2026 figures.

Samsung's profit for the entire year is expected to top its cumulative profit over the past 40 years. This record-breaking performance is largely driven by impressive sales of memory and storage chips, which are in high demand due to the ongoing AI boom. Samsung is the world's biggest memory chip maker, a position it has held for decades.

Compared to Q3 2025, the company's profit has increased by 782.5% (7.8x), while its revenue has grown by 126% (1.2x). Its profit margin has reached 55%, the highest in the company's history and a figure that even surpasses Apple's.

Analysts estimate that things will get even better for Samsung next year, as the company's operating profit could reach KRW 550 trillion (~$408.7 billion), which could be around 45% higher than this year's profit estimates.

The company has already started selling HBM4 chips to AI behemoths like Nvidia and has reportedly received Nvidia's quality approval for HBM4E chips, which will be used in the Rubin Ultra AI platform.

Samsung's non-memory chip divisions, Samsung Foundry and System LSI, are still operating at a loss, however. Their combined loss in Q3 2026 is estimated to be around $743 million. Although the foundry business has improved this year, it is weighed down by chip fabrication operations in Texas.

Once its most lucrative business, Samsung MX, which sells mobile devices like phones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches, and other wearables, is facing losses due to the rising prices of memory chips. Its operating loss is estimated to be around KRW 1.5 trillion (~$1.11 billion), and this trend might continue into next year.

Samsung's Digital Appliances and TV divisions are facing losses as well. Analysts expect an operating loss of around KRW 500 billion (~$371.5 million). This downturn is attributed to rising memory chip prices and stiff competition from Chinese brands like Hisense and TCL in the TV segment.