Samsung’s 107.4 trillion won operating profit rose 782.5% while sales missed forecasts

Samsung Electronics estimates consolidated operating profit of about 107.4 trillion won for the third quarter of 2026, on sales of about 195 trillion won. The company made the disclosure on October 8, 2026. The operating profit figure is up 782.5% from a year earlier and beat the brokerage consensus of 106.64 trillion won cited by the Korea Times.

Operating profit beat the consensus cited by the Korea Times, while sales fell short of forecasts. Samsung said the figures are based on K-IFRS and were released before its external audit is complete. The Korea Times reports the result as the first quarterly operating profit above 100 trillion won for a Korean company.

Memory chips carried the quarter

Samsung does not break out earnings by division in its preliminary guidance, so the memory figures come from analysts. The Korea Times reports that analysts estimate the memory business alone earned about 110 trillion won in operating profit. The Herald Business gives a similar estimate of near 110 trillion won.

Both outlets point to high-bandwidth memory. The Korea Times says HBM4 sales for Nvidia’s Vera Rubin AI platform are believed to be fully reflected in the quarter. The Herald says the HBM business is gaining full momentum. The Korea Times also reports that DRAM prices kept rising at double-digit rates, though more slowly than in the second quarter, and that long-term supply agreements are growing.

The Herald reports DRAM prices up 15% and NAND prices up 18% in the third quarter. It puts the operating margin at 55.1%, above the 52.2% it lists as the previous record, set in the second quarter.

Margin on record sales
The Herald Business reports an operating margin of 55.1% for the quarter, above the previous record of 52.2% set in the second quarter.

Sales missed while profit beat

Sales of about 195 trillion won fell short of the 200.64 trillion won forecast cited by the Korea Times. The Herald describes the sales figure as a record that still fell short of the 200 trillion won some analysts had projected.

The two outlets differ on expectations. The Herald says markets initially expected third-quarter operating profit above 120 trillion won, and that analysts cut their forecasts in recent weeks. The Korea Times cites the 106.64 trillion won consensus instead.

Currency reporting also differs. The Korea Times says the won appreciated sharply against the dollar. The Herald’s text describes a weaker won, but its own exchange-rate figures show the won moving from above 1,500 per dollar in the second quarter to the 1,300 range in September.

What the result means for supply, prices and devices

Profit is concentrated in the chip business. The Korea Times reports that Samsung’s Device Experience division is expected to post a second straight quarterly operating loss. Estimates vary: Meritz Securities puts the loss at 2.64 trillion won, SK Securities at 1.9 trillion won, and Mirae Asset Securities at 1.1 trillion won. The Herald cites an estimated loss of about 1.5 trillion won for the mobile unit.

Device makers face higher memory costs. The Korea Times says memory makers shifting output toward server DRAM and HBM are pushing mobile memory customers to absorb price increases. It cites IDC data showing global smartphone shipments fell 7.4% in the second quarter because of memory shortages. Meritz Securities’ Kim Sun-woo expects third-quarter shipments to fall 8% from the previous quarter, to 58 million units.

On supply, Kim Sun-woo expects memory supply constraints to become more evident in 2027, according to the Korea Times. The Herald notes that Samsung’s operating profit exceeds the $63.73 billion Nvidia reported for its fiscal second quarter of 2027.

Operating profit beat the consensus cited by the Korea Times, while sales fell short of forecasts.

What comes next

Samsung’s full third-quarter results are scheduled for October 29, 2026, according to the Korea Times. Samsung’s investor relations page says the release schedule is published in a separate notice.

The company’s guidance gives operating profit of 107.3 trillion to 107.5 trillion won and sales of 194 trillion to 196 trillion won. Korean disclosure rules do not allow ranges, so the headline figures are the midpoints. As of the October 8 guidance, Samsung had not disclosed segment figures, and the external audit had not been completed.

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