Samsung Q3 profit hits record 107.4 trillion won as AI memory boom lifts chips
Samsung Electronics confirmed a record third-quarter operating profit of 107.4 trillion won ($80 billion) on Thursday, with almost all of it from memory chips sold into the AI build-out.
At a glance
- Samsung Electronics reported July–September operating profit of 107.44 trillion won, up 783% from a year earlier — the first time any technology company has made more than 100 trillion won in a quarter.
- Revenue rose 127% to 195.25 trillion won and net profit jumped 515% to 75.13 trillion won (about $56 billion).
- The semiconductor (DS) division made 106.5 trillion won, about 99% of group operating profit; the phone and appliance division lost about 800 billion won.
- Samsung said it was first to mass-produce and ship HBM4 chips, expects memory demand to keep growing in the fourth quarter and sees a strong chip market in 2027.
- It declared a third-quarter dividend of 4,601 won a share and expects 90–110 trillion won in total shareholder returns for 2026.
Samsung Electronics made an operating profit of 107.44 trillion won (about $80 billion) in the July–September quarter, the South Korean company confirmed on Thursday, October 29, 2026 — a record for the company and, by its own count, the first time any technology firm has earned more than 100 trillion won in a single quarter. Almost all of the profit came from memory chips sold into the global race to build artificial intelligence data centres.
The numbers
The final results matched the early estimate Samsung published on October 8 and were the company's fourth record quarter in a row for both revenue and operating profit.
| Samsung Electronics, Q3 2026 | Amount | Change on a year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 195.25 trillion won | +126.9% |
| Operating profit | 107.44 trillion won | +783.1% |
| Net profit | 75.13 trillion won (≈ $56.2bn) | +514.6% (from 12.22 trillion) |
| Semiconductor (DS) operating profit | 106.5 trillion won | about 99% of group total |
| Device Experience (phones, TVs, appliances) | loss of about 0.8 trillion won | second straight quarterly loss |
| Quarterly dividend | 4,601 won per share | — |
Operating margin was about 55%, up from roughly 52% in the April–June quarter. Net profit was well below operating profit partly because financial items swung to a loss of about 9.5 trillion won, compared with a gain in the previous quarter.
Chips carry everything
The semiconductor division, which makes DRAM, NAND flash and the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) stacked next to AI processors, set a quarterly record for the second quarter in a row. Samsung said it was first in the industry to start mass production and shipments of HBM4, the newest generation, and that HBM4 sales expanded sharply in the quarter.
The consumer side told a different story. The Device Experience division, which includes Galaxy phones, TVs and home appliances, lost about 800 billion won even though sales grew with premium phones such as the Galaxy Z Fold8. The same chip shortage that is making the memory business so profitable is pushing up the cost of the components Samsung puts in its own phones.
Background
Memory makers have been the biggest winners of the AI spending boom in 2026. Cloud companies including Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta are each spending tens of billions of dollars a quarter on data centres, and every AI server needs large amounts of fast memory. Supply has not kept up, so prices have climbed for more than a year.
Samsung's smaller rival SK Hynix reported a record operating profit of about 83 trillion won for the same quarter on Tuesday. Together, the two firms are now the main engine of South Korea's economy: chip exports helped the country's GDP grow about 1% in the third quarter, and Seoul's Kospi index jumped 6.8% on Wednesday to above 6,000 points.
Outlook and shareholder returns
Samsung said it expects memory demand to keep growing in the October–December quarter, supported by AI infrastructure investment, and plans to focus on profitability by selling more premium products. It expects the semiconductor industry to remain strong in 2027 because of record AI investment and tight supply. On its earnings call, the company said its HBM supply for 2027 is already sold out at agreed prices.
The company expects total shareholder returns of 90 trillion to 110 trillion won for 2026. About 35 trillion won has already been paid or committed, and the remaining 55 trillion to 75 trillion won is to come through cash dividends and large share buybacks and cancellations.
Why it matters
Samsung is the world's largest memory maker and a bellwether for global electronics. Its results confirm that AI spending is still accelerating, but they also show the cost for ordinary buyers: dearer memory raises the cost of phones, laptops and PCs, as Samsung's own loss-making device division shows. That can feed through to retail prices in import-dependent markets such as Pakistan and India. Some analysts also question how long the AI spending wave can last, which is why investors watch every comment on 2027 demand.
What happens next
Samsung will publish its full quarterly report with regulators in mid-November. Its fourth-quarter guidance is due in early January 2027. Investors will also watch Nvidia's results in late November for signs of whether AI chip orders — and memory demand with them — are still growing.
Questions people are asking
How much profit did Samsung make in Q3 2026?
Samsung Electronics made an operating profit of 107.44 trillion won (about $80 billion) and a net profit of 75.13 trillion won (about $56 billion) in July–September 2026, both records. Revenue was 195.25 trillion won.
Why is Samsung's profit so high?
Prices and demand for memory chips have soared because companies building AI data centres need huge amounts of DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Samsung's chip division produced about 99% of its operating profit in the quarter.
What dividend will Samsung pay for Q3 2026?
Samsung declared a quarterly cash dividend of 4,601 won per common and preferred share. It expects total shareholder returns of 90 to 110 trillion won for 2026, including dividends and share buybacks.
