Samsung's operating profit surged 18 times! Beat Nvidia and Apple, but stock price plunged over 6% after earnings release.

Samsung Electronics announced its Q2 2026 earnings forecast, with revenue of approximately 171 trillion KRW (about $112 billion) and operating profit of approximately 89.4 trillion KRW, up about 1,810% year-on-year and about 56% quarter-on-quarter. The main reason is the low base period last year combined with the memory super cycle. After the earnings report was released, the stock price once fell more than 6%, as reported by BlockTempo.
(Previous summary: Samsung AI memory surges: first-half profit nearly $91 billion, semiconductor employees receive 100% performance bonuses)
(Background supplement: Samsung raises memory prices by 20%! UBS revises quotes: DRAM Q3 up 32% QoQ, NAND up 30%!)

Table of Contents

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• Memory super cycle boosts profits
• Foundry turns profitable for first time in three years
• Strong earnings, but stock price dips slightly

Key Takeaways

• Samsung Q2 operating profit approximately 89.4 trillion KRW, up about 1,810% year-on-year (base period last year was only 4.7 trillion KRW), up about 56% quarter-on-quarter
• Memory super cycle in effect: DRAM average price up about 44% QoQ, NAND up about 53% QoQ, with AI server and HBM demand fully ramping up
• After earnings release, Samsung stock price once fell more than 6%, as the market worries about memory cycle peaking and bonuses eroding profits

Samsung Electronics announced its Q2 2026 earnings forecast, with operating profit of approximately 89.4 trillion KRW, surging about 1,810% year-on-year, nearly 19 times that of the same period last year. Revenue also surged to approximately 171 trillion KRW (about $112 billion), up 56% quarter-on-quarter. The numbers look dramatic, but breaking it down, the same period last year was one of the worst troughs in memory history, with operating profit of only about 4.7 trillion KRW—a base so low it almost touched the ground, which inflated the year-on-year growth rate to about 19 times. The earnings are indeed strong, but understanding the denominator first prevents being fooled by the multiples.

Memory super cycle boosts profits

The main engine driving profit growth is the comprehensive surge in memory prices. In Q2, DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory, the most common short-term memory chip for PCs and servers) average price increased about 44% quarter-on-quarter, while NAND (flash memory, long-term memory chip for data storage) average price increased about 53% quarter-on-quarter.

Demand for server DRAM and HBM (High Bandwidth Memory, stacked memory next to AI chips for high-speed data feeding) from AI servers and data centers continues to soar, which also tightens supply for traditional DRAM and NAND, driving up their prices. Samsung is benefiting from this wave across almost every memory segment. In the HBM battlefield, Samsung's HBM4 base die using 4nm process technology is improving yield, gradually catching up with current market leader SK Hynix.

Foundry turns profitable for first time in three years

A signal more noteworthy than memory lies in the foundry business (manufacturing chips for other companies). Samsung's foundry division turned profitable in June 2026 on a monthly basis, its first profitable month since 2023. This business has long been a pain point for Samsung, struggling to catch up with TSMC in advanced process yields. Now, the monthly swing to profit suggests improvements in both orders and yields.

Samsung has raised its full-year 2026 operating profit outlook to approximately 300 trillion KRW (about $200 billion), which is estimated to exceed the cumulative profit of Samsung's semiconductor business over the past 40 years. If this figure materializes, it means Samsung's semiconductor division earned back in one year what took four decades to accumulate. According to reports, Samsung's single-quarter operating profit even surpassed Nvidia and Apple, making it the most profitable tech company in a single quarter, but this comparison awaits confirmation after the official earnings release.

Strong earnings, but stock price dips slightly

Logically, earnings of this magnitude should trigger a rally, but Samsung's stock price fell more than 6% after the earnings release.

Market interpretations include several factors: first, a classic "sell the news" scenario—no matter how good the earnings, they may represent the cyclical peak of this memory wave, with the stock price already priced in; second, concerns that the memory super cycle may have peaked, with uncertainty whether price increases will slow or reverse; third, variables such as semiconductor employee performance bonuses eroding the quality of reported profits; fourth, Samsung's shareholder return program falling short of market expectations, prompting investors to cash out.

The market is now betting not on how much Samsung earned, but on how long this memory cycle can last.

• Q2 operating profit: approximately 89.4 trillion KRW, up about 1,810% year-on-year, up about 56% quarter-on-quarter
• DRAM average price up about 44% QoQ, NAND average price up about 53% QoQ
• Full-year 2026 operating profit outlook: up to approximately 300 trillion KRW (about $200 billion)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Samsung's 1,810% year-on-year increase in operating profit inflated?

Not inflated, but you need to look at the base. In the same period last year, Samsung's operating profit was only about 4.7 trillion KRW, at the trough of the memory cycle. The extremely low base magnified the year-on-year growth rate to nearly 19 times, but the actual profit amount is genuinely growing.

With such strong earnings, why did Samsung's stock price fall?

Market interpretations mostly point to a sell-the-news event, combined with concerns about the memory cycle peaking, employee performance bonuses eroding profits, and a shareholder return program that fell short of expectations, prompting investors to take profits.