Samsung Electronics set a record for the highest quarterly results on the back of growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips. The DS (Device Solutions) institutional sector led overall results as it rewrote its all-time best performance.
Samsung Electronics said on the 30th that it posted consolidated sales of 171.4995 trillion won and operating profit of 89.4924 trillion won in the second quarter of this year. The figures rose 130.0% and 1,813.8%, respectively, from a year earlier. Operating profit beat the securities consensus (market forecast) by about 5%.
Compared with the previous quarter, sales increased 28.1% and operating profit rose 56.4%. Cumulative first-half sales came to 305.3729 trillion won, with operating profit at 146.7252 trillion won.
By business institutional sector, the DS institutional sector set an all-time quarterly record with sales of 127.5 trillion won and operating profit of 89.2 trillion won. The memory business posted record-high sales as it responded to strong demand for server DRAM and NAND flash, and it strengthened its technology competitiveness by expanding HBM4 supply and making the industry's first HBM4E sample shipments, the company said.
The System LSI business achieved record first-half sales on increased sales of mobile system-on-chips (SoCs) and image sensors. The foundry business also improved results, helped by demand growth for HBM base die and from North American customers.
By contrast, the DX (Device eXperience) institutional sector posted sales of 48 trillion won and an operating loss of 800 billion won. MX (Mobile eXperience) increased sales on strong sales of the Galaxy S26 series and A series, but profitability deteriorated as the burden of expenses grew with rising component costs. The networks business improved results on increased overseas sales, while VD (visual display) improved both sales and profitability on the back of major sporting events and expanding AI TV sales.
Harman recorded sales of 4.6 trillion won and operating profit of 400 billion won. Expansion of the automotive electronics business and strong portable audio sales drove results. The display business posted sales of 7.5 trillion won and operating profit of 700 billion won.
Samsung Electronics projected that AI-centered chip demand will remain strong in the second half. The memory business will expand sales of HBM4, HBM4E, DDR5, and eSSD, while the foundry will focus on mass production of the second-generation 2-nanometer mobile process and securing AI and high-performance computing (HPC) customers.
The DX institutional sector expects global uncertainty and rising component prices to continue and plans to defend profitability by expanding sales of flagship smartphones and AI products.