Samsung Posts Record Q2 Earnings as AI Memory Chips Drive Profits

Samsung Electronics said Thursday that it posted record second-quarter revenue and operating profit, with its semiconductor business generating virtually all of the company’s earnings as booming demand for artificial intelligence memory chips outweighed weakness in smartphones and consumer electronics.

The South Korean technology giant said it earned KRW 171.5 trillion in consolidated revenue and KRW 89.5 trillion in consolidated operating profit for the quarter ended June 30, both all-time quarterly highs. “The Company posted KRW 171.5 trillion in consolidated revenue, another all-time quarterly high,” Samsung said in its earnings release. Revenue rose 28% from the previous quarter.

The company’s Device Solutions division, which houses its semiconductor operations, was the clear engine of the quarter. Samsung said DS generated KRW 127.5 trillion in revenue and KRW 89.2 trillion in operating profit, meaning chips accounted for nearly all of the company’s consolidated operating earnings. Samsung said its memory business set quarterly records for both revenue and operating profit, driven by stronger server demand and higher industry prices. It also said it scaled up sales of HBM4 — high-bandwidth memory used in AI servers — and shipped HBM4E samples to major customers in the first half of 2026.

The results add to evidence that the current AI build-out is reshaping the memory chip market. The Associated Press also described Samsung’s quarter as a record tied to the AI and memory boom. A day earlier, smaller South Korean chipmaker SK hynix also reported record second-quarter results, saying it had “revenues of 79.3187 trillion won, operating profit of 60.5426 trillion won,” underscoring that the surge is industrywide rather than unique to Samsung.

The strength in chips stood in sharp contrast to Samsung’s other businesses. Its Device eXperience division, which includes mobile devices and consumer electronics, posted a 9% quarter-on-quarter sales decline. Within that unit, the MX and Networks businesses reported KRW 33.2 trillion in revenue and an operating loss of KRW 0.7 trillion. Samsung said its Visual Display and Digital Appliances businesses posted KRW 14.5 trillion in revenue and a slight operating loss. Samsung Display remained profitable, reporting KRW 7.5 trillion in revenue and KRW 0.7 trillion in operating profit. Samsung also said Harman, its connected-car and audio subsidiary, improved earnings on stronger automotive and audio product sales, though it did not provide a figure.

The final numbers were broadly in line with the guidance Samsung issued on July 7, when it forecast about KRW 171 trillion in sales and KRW 89.3 trillion to KRW 89.5 trillion in operating profit. Even with the record quarter, Samsung said supply constraints are continuing as it works to increase output, a sign that demand for AI-related memory remains strong enough to strain production.