Key Points
- Samsung’s fourth-quarter operating profit is expected to double to a record $13.8 billion.
- Surging memory chip prices drive the surge amid the AI boom.
- The average selling price of DRAM and NAND chips jumped 40% in the last quarter.
- The company’s chip-making division is expected to account for 80% of the total profit.
Samsung Electronics is riding the artificial intelligence wave to record profits. The company announced on Thursday that it expects its operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2025 to double from the same period last year, reaching a massive 20 trillion won, or about $13.8 billion. This is the first time in the company’s history that its quarterly profit has exceeded 20 trillion won.
The primary reason for this incredible performance is the sharp rise in memory chip prices. The global demand for AI has created a significant demand for specialized chips that power these systems, and Samsung is one of the world’s largest suppliers.
Analysts estimate that the average selling price for both DRAM and NAND memory chips jumped by about 40% in the last quarter alone.
Samsung’s official earnings guidance projects sales of 93 trillion won for the quarter, a nearly 23% increase from a year earlier. Operating profit is expected to surge by 208%. These numbers are well above what Wall Street was expecting.
While Samsung won’t release the full details of its performance until its official earnings call, everyone agrees that the chip-making division is the star of the show. One analyst estimated that the Device Solutions division will account for nearly 80% of the company’s total operating profit.
This is a significant turnaround for Samsung, which had been struggling to keep up with rival SK Hynix in the high-end memory market. This massive profit surge is a clear sign that “Samsung is back” and is once again a dominant force in the global semiconductor industry.
