Samsung Electronics said Thursday its preliminary third-quarter operating profit reached 107.40 trillion won, or roughly $80.2 billion, the first time the figure has cleared 100 trillion won in the company's history. The result represents a 782 percent increase from the same period a year earlier, while revenue is projected at about 195 trillion won, up nearly 127 percent. Shares slipped 0.7 percent in morning trading.
The market wanted more
"The market doesn't hand out points for effort," said Josh Gilbert, lead analyst for APAC at eToro. He noted that Samsung delivered a record and still missed expectations, a sign of how demanding the AI trade has become for memory makers. Investors have priced in near-perfect execution, and anything short of that is treated as a disappointment.
Visibility improves but cyclicality fears linger
Gilbert said AI spending continues to drive memory demand while supply stays tight, keeping the broader chip narrative intact. He pointed to AI agents that consume far more memory than simple chatbots as a structural tailwind. Buyers are also locking in multiyear supply agreements, which gives Samsung a clearer demand picture in a business historically haunted by the next downturn.
Second quarter set the bar higher
The June quarter already produced records: revenue of 171.5 trillion won and operating profit of 89.5 trillion won, both led by the memory division. That performance raised the hurdle for the September quarter, and the preliminary numbers suggest the pace of improvement is moderating even as absolute levels climb.
What comes next
Samsung deepened its AI ties in September with a strategic partnership covering Mistral AI, the French startup whose models are slated for deployment across Samsung's semiconductor operations. Full third-quarter results, including a division-by-division breakdown, are due later this month.