Samsung is projected to earn more in one year than in the previous 40 years, with operating profit estimated at approximately $200 billion this year.
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Samsung released its Q2 earnings forecast: operating profit increased by over 1800% year-on-year, with single-quarter profit exceeding the total of the previous three years.
BlockBeats reported on July 7th that global semiconductor giant Samsung Electronics released extremely strong preliminary financial results for the second quarter. Data shows that, driven by the powerful wave of artificial intelligence (AI), the world's largest memory chip manufacturer is experiencing its most prosperous profit cycle in history. According to the financial report, Samsung's operating profit in the second quarter surged 1810.2% year-on-year, reaching 89.4 trillion won (approximately US$58 billion). This figure not only far exceeded the market's previous expectation of 84.2 trillion won, but also remarkably surpassed the company's total profit for the three years from 2023 to 2025. At the same time, the company's revenue also increased by 129% year-on-year, reaching 171 trillion won. Following Samsung Electronics' earnings forecast, SanDisk (SNDK.O) and Micron Technology (MU.O) saw their US-listed shares decline in after-hours trading. Samsung's explosive performance directly benefits from the near-"thirsty" orders for high-performance memory chips from AI data centers. Industry giants like Nvidia and OpenAI have repeatedly stated publicly that the shortage of memory chips has become a core bottleneck for current AI development. Because major manufacturers prioritize the production capacity of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which is designed specifically for AI and offers higher profits, this has conversely squeezed the conventional memory space needed for smartphones, PCs, and enterprise servers. This "capacity squeeze" effect has led to a severe shortage in the global memory market. HSBC data shows that in the second quarter of 2026, the average selling price of DRAM increased by more than 40% compared to the previous quarter, and NAND prices increased by more than 50%; Citi Research gives even higher estimates, at 44% and 53% respectively. Analysts generally believe that this "seller's market" will continue at least until 2027, giving Samsung and its long-time rivals SK Hynix and Micron Technology extremely strong pricing power.
Samsung will release its preliminary Q2 financial results tomorrow: profits are expected to surge 18 times, with executives boasting that "one year's profits are equivalent to 40 years' worth."
According to BlockBeats, Samsung Electronics will release its preliminary Q2 2026 results on July 7th, while SK Hynix will list its ADRs on Nasdaq on July 10th. With these two major events for South Korea's semiconductor giants, the market is highly focused on the industry's health and the impact of AI chip demand on earnings. According to a compilation of forecasts from 30 analysts by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), Samsung Electronics' Q2 operating profit is expected to be approximately 86 trillion won (about US$56.3 billion), with some brokerages predicting as high as 90 trillion won, representing a year-on-year increase of approximately 17-18 times, potentially marking its best quarterly performance in recent years. Prior to the preliminary earnings release, Samsung Electronics management has already released positive signals. Kim Yong-kwan, President of Business Strategy for Samsung Electronics Device Solutions (DS) division, stated at an internal all-hands meeting on July 3rd that the company's full-year 2026 operating profit is expected to meet market consensus expectations. Currently, the market generally expects Samsung Electronics' full-year operating profit to be approximately 300 trillion won (about US$200 billion), with improvements in AI servers, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and wafer foundry business considered the main drivers of growth. Kim Yong-kwan also stated, "This year's profit will exceed the total cumulative profit of our 40 years in the semiconductor business." Industry insiders believe this is a rare instance of Samsung Electronics management proactively making a positive statement about the full-year profit outlook before officially disclosing the results, reflecting the company's strong confidence in the recovery of its AI-driven semiconductor business and its overall performance growth for the year. With the release of Samsung's financial report and the upcoming listing of SK Hynix's ADRs, the South Korean semiconductor sector will be entering its most important market observation window in the near future.
US pre-market news at a glance: Samsung's earnings report triggered a collective weakness in semiconductor stocks in pre-market trading; SpaceX officially debuts on the Nasdaq 100 today.
According to BlockBeats, the following are key market news items before the US stock market opened on July 7th: 1. Samsung released its Q2 earnings forecast, showing an operating profit increase of over 1800% year-on-year, with single-quarter profits exceeding the total of the previous three years. Simultaneously, the company's revenue also increased by 129% year-on-year, reaching 171 trillion won. Affected by the semiconductor sell-off triggered by the "sell-off" of Samsung's earnings, chip-related technology stocks generally weakened in pre-market trading. The three major US stock futures indices showed mixed results in pre-market trading: Dow Jones futures rose 0.41%, Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.9%, and S&P 500 futures fell 0.09%. 2. SpaceX officially debuted on the Nasdaq 100 before the US stock market opened today, with Wall Street institutions collectively bullish. Most institutions believe that SpaceX is no longer just a traditional aerospace company, but a platform company with the potential for rocket launches, Starlink satellite internet, AI infrastructure, and future space computing. 3. DeepSeek is secretly developing its own inference chip. If successful, this would reduce reliance on external suppliers and give it more cost-effective hardware control. However, the project is still in its early stages and faces manufacturing and memory acquisition restrictions due to US export controls. 4. UBS recommends investors buy SK Hynix's upcoming American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and sell its South Korean shares, as these new shares are expected to trade at higher prices. 5. JPMorgan strategists say the recent weakness in semiconductor stocks should be seen as a buying opportunity, as the chip upcycle is not yet over, and truly meaningful new supply may not appear until 2028. 6. US ADP employment change for the week ending June 20 was 21,000, compared to 30,750 in the previous week. 7. BlackRock will launch an ETF tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index, aiming to meet investors' growing demand for participation in the AI-driven stock market rally and challenge Invesco's dominant position. 8. Amazon is returning to the US bond market to raise funds for its artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company will issue eight benchmark bonds with maturities ranging from 3 to 40 years, raising at least $25 billion in the dollar bond offering. 9. Global brokerages have begun coverage research on Elon Musk's SpaceX (SPCX.O), and a preliminary consensus has formed on Wall Street: buy the stock. At least six brokerages, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and UBS, have given it a buy rating, optimistic about its long-term growth prospects, although doubts remain about profitability and valuation.
Analysts: Samsung's better-than-expected earnings report is already priced in; investors are concerned about the sustainability of AI.
According to Mars Finance, on July 7th, Samsung Electronics issued a better-than-expected earnings forecast: the company's operating profit increased by over 1800% year-on-year, with single-quarter profits exceeding the total of the previous three years. Simultaneously, the company's revenue also increased by 129% year-on-year, reaching 171 trillion won. However, investors seemed unconvinced, and Samsung Electronics' stock price fell sharply after the South Korean stock market opened, with a maximum drop of 8%. Analysts attributed Samsung's weak stock price to some overly high market expectations: after including employee bonus provisions, profits driven by record memory chip prices could have exceeded 90 trillion won. Furthermore, the market is also concerned about a potential slowdown in the construction of AI data centers. Albert Yong, Managing Partner of Petra Capital Management, stated, "Samsung's strong performance had already been widely anticipated by the market and largely priced in during the pre-earnings stock price increase. Investors remain concerned about the sustainability of the AI boom and the risk of a potential slowdown in AI infrastructure spending by major US technology companies."
Samsung expects its Q2 operating profit to reach 89.4 trillion won, a staggering 1810% year-on-year increase.
According to an official announcement from Samsung Electronics, the company has released its performance guidance for the second quarter of 2026. Based on Korean International Financial Reporting Standards (K-IFRS), Samsung Electronics expects consolidated sales of approximately 171 trillion won (estimated range: 170 trillion to 172 trillion won) and consolidated operating profit of approximately 89.4 trillion won (estimated range: 89.3 trillion to 89.5 trillion won). Data shows a significant leap in Samsung Electronics' performance compared to the same period last year. In comparison, its consolidated sales in the second quarter of 2025 were 74.57 trillion won, and its operating profit was 4.68 trillion won; in the previous quarter (first quarter of 2026), its sales were 133.87 trillion won, and its operating profit was 57.23 trillion won. This strong performance is mainly attributed to the continued surge in demand and price increases for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and other advanced memory chips driven by the ongoing artificial intelligence boom. Samsung Electronics is reportedly set to release a detailed full financial report later this month.
The market ignored Samsung's impressive earnings forecast, and Samsung Electronics opened down 3%.
According to BlockBeats, on July 7th, based on Bitget market data, the South Korean KOSPI index opened down 96.78 points, or 1.2%, at 7954.55 points on Tuesday, July 7th. Samsung Electronics fell 3%, and SK Hynix fell 1%. Previously, Samsung released its Q2 earnings forecast, showing that its operating profit increased by over 1800% year-on-year, with single-quarter profit exceeding the total of the previous three years. At the same time, the company's revenue also increased by 129% year-on-year, reaching 171 trillion won.