Samsung Electronics has forecast its highest ever quarterly operating profit, with first-quarter earnings expected to surpass the company’s entire output for the previous year, as surging demand for artificial intelligence chips reshapes the global semiconductor landscape.
The South Korean technology giant said in preliminary earnings guidance that it expects operating profit of approximately 57.2 trillion won, equivalent to around $37.8 billion, for the January to March period of 2026, an increase of more than eightfold compared with the same quarter a year earlier, and an all-time quarterly record for the company.
The figure comfortably surpasses analyst expectations, with the consensus estimate tracked by Reuters and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) SmartEstimate placing forecasts at between 40.6 trillion and 42.3 trillion won. Samsung also reported preliminary consolidated sales of approximately 133 trillion won for the quarter, representing a year-on-year increase of roughly 68 percent.
The result rivals Samsung’s full-year operating profit of 58.9 trillion won posted in 2018, which had been its strongest annual performance to date, and is nearly triple the company’s previous single-quarter record of 20.1 trillion won set just last quarter.
The performance was driven primarily by strong sales of High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips used in artificial intelligence data centres, with Samsung being one of only three companies globally that manufacture advanced HBM products. The company has also begun shipping its sixth-generation HBM4 chips to major customers including semiconductor designers relying on them for next-generation artificial intelligence accelerators.
TrendForce, a market research firm, has projected that an ongoing supply crunch will push contract Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM) prices up by more than half during the current quarter alone. This imbalance between supply and the pace of demand from technology firms building out artificial intelligence infrastructure has allowed chipmakers to raise prices sharply, amplifying Samsung’s profit growth.
Currency movements have added a further boost. A weakening South Korean won, hovering near a 17-year low against the United States dollar, has increased the value of overseas earnings when converted back into local currency.
Samsung’s mobile division is also said to have contributed to the results, with the Galaxy S26 series drawing strong demand during its pre-order period across several global markets, supporting revenue growth in the first quarter.
Despite the headline figures, risks lie ahead. Chipmakers including Samsung face potential materials shortages linked to the United States-Israeli military campaign against Iran, which has interrupted the supply of key inputs to semiconductor production, among them helium. TrendForce Senior Vice President Avril Wu noted that spot DRAM prices softened in the prior week, citing difficulty among end consumers in keeping pace with the sharp run-up in pricing.
Some analysts warn that the surge in memory prices may have already pulled forward demand, with further gains dependent on a more stable interest rate environment and sustained profitability in the artificial intelligence sector.
Samsung said it will release its full first-quarter financial results on April 30, 2026.
