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The Samsung logo, representing the South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate, the largest chaebol of South Korea, and the world's largest information technology company, consumer electronics maker, chipmaker, and smartphone manufacturer, appears on their pavilion during the Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona, Spain, on March 5, 2025. (Photo by Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported third-quarter operating profit that is broadly in line with analysts' expectations, as demand for advanced memory chips used in artificial intelligence applications continued to grow.
Following the announcement, Samsung shares were trading 5% lower.
The company plans to increase sales of advanced memory chips used in AI applications and secure long-term contracts to meet growing demand.
Here are Samsung's third-quarter results compared with LSEG SmartEstimates, which are weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate:
Samsung's revenue rose 126.88% year-on-year and 13.85% from the previous quarter, while operating profit rose 783.11% from a year earlier.
The company also announced 30 trillion won in cash dividends for the third quarter, equivalent to 4,601 won per common and preferred share.
The company plans to return another 55 trillion to 75 trillion won to shareholders this year through dividends and share buybacks, as the board will finalize the total shareholder returns and specific execution plans at a meeting scheduled for late January 2027.
Samsung said it became the first global technology company to top 100 trillion won in quarterly operating profit, while posting record revenue and profit for a fourth straight quarter.
Its semiconductor business reported 147.1 trillion won in revenue and 106.5 trillion won in operating profit, driven by strong demand for AI-related memory chips.
Furthermore, its memory business also achieved record quarterly revenue and operating profit, supported by a significant ramp-up in HBM4 sales and growing demand for server solid-state drives.
However, Josh Gilbert, lead analyst for APAC at investment platform eToro, appeared unaroused by the numbers, as the results failing to generate much enthusiasm in the market.
The market still was not impressed.
Josh Gilbert
APAC Lead Analyst, eToro
"Investors have been so spoilt by the AI trade that a record result is now treated as the bare minimum rather than a reason to celebrate," Gilbert said, adding that Samsung's chip business accounted for nearly all of its operating profit in the third quarter, highlighting its growing reliance on memory chips.
"For all the talk of Samsung being a diversified giant, anyone holding the stock today is really holding a memory maker with a phone business attached," he said, stating that the company's fortunes now depend heavily on memory prices.
Looking ahead, the company expects AI infrastructure investment to accelerate in 2027, with rising demand likely to further tighten memory supply.
Samsung also plans to increase sales of HBM, a type of high-performance memory used in AI chips, along with other memory products used in servers and data storage.
In the third quarter, Samsung Electronics and five of its affiliates had announced a combined $1 billion investment in KKR-backed Helix Digital Infrastructure. Samsung Electronics will invest $500 million, with the remaining amount coming from its affiliates.
The tech giant had also announced a partnership with French AI startup Mistral AI to use AI technologies in its semiconductor operations, including chip design and manufacturing. The company also led Mistral's Series D funding round.