Samsung profit reached a record KRW 107.4 trillion (~$79.8 billion) in Q3 2026 on revenue of KRW 195 trillion (~$144.9 billion), the company said in preliminary estimates.
These are Samsung’s estimates and final figures, which could vary slightly, will be announced later this month. The company’s operating profit for Q3 2026 is 20% higher than the previous quarter, which was already significantly higher than Q1 2026 figures.
Samsung profit driven by memory chip demand
The surge in profit is largely attributable to strong sales of memory and storage chips amid the ongoing AI boom; Samsung is the world’s largest memory chip maker. Compared with Q3 2025, the company’s profit increased by 782.5% (7.8x) while revenue grew by 126% (1.2x). Samsung’s profit margin reached 55%, the highest in the company’s history and a figure the company says even surpasses Apple’s. The firm also said its profit for the entire year is expected to top its cumulative profit over the past 40 years.
Analysts cited by the company estimate that operating profit could reach KRW 550 trillion (~$408.7 billion) next year, roughly 45% higher than this year’s profit estimates. Samsung has already begun selling HBM4 chips to AI customers such as Nvidia and has reportedly received Nvidia’s quality approval for HBM4E chips, which will be used in the Rubin Ultra AI platform.
Non-memory divisions remain in the red
Samsung’s non-memory units continue to struggle. Samsung Foundry and System LSI are operating at a combined loss estimated at about $743 million in Q3 2026. The foundry business has shown improvement this year but remains weighed down by chip fabrication operations in Texas. Once the company’s most lucrative division, Samsung MX—which sells phones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches and other wearables—is facing losses due to rising memory chip prices; its operating loss is estimated at about KRW 1.5 trillion (~$1.11 billion), and the company says this trend may continue into next year.
