Samsung Electronics' Q2 Profit Expected to Surge 18-fold Year-on-Year to 85 Trillion Won

Samsung Electronics is poised to announce its second-quarter earnings, with market attention focused on its performance amid growing concerns about 'AI over-investment' and the sustainability of the semiconductor super-cycle. Analysts predict the company's operating profit will surpass 80 trillion won, a level that could bolster significant new investments, including semiconductor clusters.

The company is scheduled to release its provisional second-quarter earnings on July 7. Financial information provider FnGuide projects Samsung's revenue and operating profit at approximately 169.4 trillion won and 85.5 trillion won, respectively. This operating profit forecast represents a 49.5% increase from the first quarter's roughly 57.2 trillion won. Compared to the "earnings shock" of 4.7 trillion won in the second quarter of last year, this marks an astonishing surge of over 18 times.

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Samsung Electronics' second-quarter operating profit forecast reflects accounting for costs related to employee stock compensation from labor-management negotiations.

Market predictions suggest that a single quarter this year could yield double the profit of the entire previous year (43.6 trillion won), driven by severe memory supply shortages and soaring prices. Micron Technology, another global memory leader, recently reported a 15.4-fold increase in its third-quarter operating profit, corroborating this booming market.

Analysts like Chae Min-sook from Korea Investment & Securities attribute the expected growth to Samsung's expanding market share in High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and higher memory selling prices compared to competitors. This robust performance is expected to fuel investment plans for semiconductor facilities in regions like Honam, as companies like SK Hynix also anticipate a significant profit increase in the second quarter.

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The expansion of market share in AI memory (HBM) and higher memory selling prices compared to competitors are expected to drive performance growth.