Samsung Electronics flags record first-quarter earnings as chip demand booms

7th Apr 2026 08:29

(Sharecast News) - Samsung Electronics forecast record first-quarter earnings overnight on Tuesday, with operating profit expected to surge more than eightfold, as booming demand for artificial intelligence chips drove prices higher and tightened global supply.

The South Korean group said it expected operating profit of KRW 57.2trn (£28.76bn) for the January-to-March period, up from around KRW 6.7trn a year earlier and well above analyst estimates of roughly KRW 40trn.

Revenue was projected to rise about 68% to KRW 133trn.

The forecast would mark a record quarterly profit and exceed the company's total operating profit for 2025, according to Reuters.

The strong performance was driven primarily by Samsung's memory chip division, particularly high-bandwidth memory used in AI data centres, where demand had surged as cloud providers ramp up investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Bloomberg reported that memory chips could account for close to 90% of total operating profit, while Reuters said tightening supply and rising prices for both advanced and conventional DRAM chips underpinned the earnings jump.

Shares in Samsung rose in early trading following the guidance, gaining as much as around 4% to 5% at one point, as investors responded to the stronger-than-expected outlook.

The stock had remained volatile amid geopolitical tensions, but was still significantly higher year-to-date, supported by sustained AI-related demand.

The results came despite rising energy costs linked to the Middle East conflict, which increased operating expenses for data centres.

However, analysts told the Financial Times that the impact on chip production and pricing had been limited so far, with supply shortages outweighing cost pressures.

Industry data pointed to continued upward pressure on memory prices, with DRAM contract prices expected to rise sharply in the current quarter after already surging in the first three months of the year.

The boom was being fuelled by both AI training and inference workloads, which were increasing demand for a broad range of chips beyond cutting-edge products.

Samsung was also regaining ground in the high-bandwidth memory segment after previously lagging rivals such as domestic peer SK Hynix, with recent shipments of next-generation chips to customers including Nvidia.

Its contract chipmaking business remained loss-making, however, even as profitability improved.

Shares in Samsung Electronics finished the day up 1.76% in Seoul at KRW 196,500.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.