Samsung's operating profit jumped nearly eightfold in the first quarter of this year, reaching an all-time high, supported by rising prices for electronic chips and supply shortages amid a booming artificial intelligence sector.
The world's largest memory chip maker's operating profit reached 57.2 trillion won ($38.43 billion) in the January-March period, up from 6.69 trillion won a year earlier, and against expected levels of $55.28 trillion.
Regarding the South Korean company's revenue, it increased by 69% to 133.9 trillion won ($89.96 billion) in this quarter compared to the same period a year ago, and compared to expectations of 132.6 trillion won.
Samsung expects its profits to improve further in the second quarter, and said that investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure will continue to expand, which will lead to higher prices for memory chips.
She also said she expects demand for server memory to remain strong in the second half of this year as the company continues to absorb AI adoption, alongside accelerating demand for agent-based AI.
Momentum in chip business
Samsung’s chip division recorded operating profits of 53.7 trillion won in the first quarter of 2026, compared to only about 1 trillion won in the same period of 2026. These profits constitute more than 90% of the company’s total profits in the last quarter.
Meanwhile, the total value of chip sales reached 81.7 trillion won, an increase of 225% year-on-year.
The strong performance came as the company continues to expand its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) business, a key component in AI data center chips.
Nvidia led the demand for HBM amid limited supply. As manufacturers prioritize higher-margin AI applications, supply constraints have driven up prices for memory used in consumer electronics.
Samsung said its memory division surpassed its record quarterly sales figure, benefiting from meeting high demand for high-value AI applications despite limited supply. Industry-wide memory price increases also contributed to this performance.
headwinds
While Samsung’s chip business is expected to continue benefiting from higher memory chip prices, this trend could negatively impact its other business sectors.
Meanwhile, the company said in its earnings call that it will continue to monitor the conflict in the Middle East, which poses risks to the company's energy and raw material supply chains.
