(LEAD) Samsung's Q3 operating profit reaches new high of 107.4 tln won

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday estimated its third-quarter operating profit at over 107 trillion won (US$79.8 billion), marking another quarterly record as strong demand for semiconductors related to artificial intelligence (AI) boosted earnings.

The South Korean technology giant said operating profit for the July-September period is expected to total 107.4 trillion won, up 782.5 percent from a year earlier, according to its earnings guidance.

The estimate exceeded the average market forecast by 1.6 percent, according to Yonhap Infomax, the financial data arm of Yonhap News Agency.

Third-quarter revenue is estimated to have risen 126.6 percent from a year earlier to 195 trillion won. Net profit was not included in the earnings guidance.

If confirmed, Samsung Electronics will have posted record quarterly revenue and operating profit for the fourth consecutive quarter since the last three months of 2025.

It would also mark the first time a South Korean company has reported a quarterly operating profit of more than 100 trillion won.

Samsung Electronics did not provide a detailed breakdown of earnings by business division, although its device solutions unit, which includes the semiconductor segment, is believed to have accounted for a dominant share.

The strong performance is widely attributed to continued growth in global investment in AI infrastructure, which has intensified the supply shortage of semiconductors and kept memory chip prices elevated.

Industry observers expect the favorable market conditions to continue at least through next year.

Samsung Electronics has been among the biggest beneficiaries of the AI supercyle, backed by the world's largest memory chip production capacity.

The company has also expanded sales of higher-value products by becoming the first in the industry to begin mass production and shipments of sixth-generation high bandwidth memory (HBM4) chips.

HBM4 is expected to begin making a meaningful contribution to Samsung's earnings next year.

Industry observers expect Samsung's operating profit next year to reach around 550 trillion won.

In contrast, the device experience unit, which oversees Samsung's consumer electronics and mobile businesses, is expected to have posted relatively weak results.

The company will release its final earnings report later this month.