SAMSUNG FORECASTS RECORD $80 BILLION QUARTERLY PROFIT ON AI DEMAND

Samsung Electronics reported preliminary third-quarter operating profit of 107.40 trillion won, around $80.2 billion, exceeding 100 trillion won for the first time in the company's history. The South Korean company said the result was fuelled by demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence. It forecast revenue of about 195 trillion won, a rise of nearly 127% on the same period last year. Samsung said the operating profit figure was roughly 782% higher than a year earlier. Its shares fell 0.7% in morning trading on Thursday. Fuller results are due later this month, the company said.

Josh Gilbert, lead analyst for Asia-Pacific at the trading platform eToro, said Samsung had delivered a record profit but still fallen short of market expectations. He said this reflected how demanding the artificial intelligence trade had become for memory makers. Gilbert said AI agents consume far more memory than chatbots handling single queries, helping sustain demand. He said memory buyers were signing multiyear supply deals, giving Samsung clearer visibility over future demand. In the second quarter, Samsung posted record revenue of 171.5 trillion won and record operating profit of 89.5 trillion won, driven by its memory business, the company said.

Samsung said it had increased investment in artificial intelligence and formed new partnerships linked to the technology. Gilbert said the chip sector's growth outlook remained intact, citing tight supply and rising AI-driven memory demand. Some investors have questioned whether current levels of AI-related spending can be sustained, according to other market commentary. Samsung said it would publish a full breakdown of its third-quarter results, including by division, later this month. The preliminary figures mark Samsung's second consecutive quarter of record revenue.