Samsung Shares Rise as Profit Set to Surge on AI Chip Demand

Samsung Electronics shares rose on Tuesday after the company forecast a sharp increase in quarterly profit, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips.

The South Korean technology giant said its operating profit for the January–March quarter is expected to reach 57.2 trillion won ($37.8 billion), more than eight times higher than the 6.69 trillion won recorded a year earlier.

The projected figure would mark a record quarterly profit for the company and significantly exceed market expectations.

Samsung also estimated consolidated revenue of around 133 trillion won for the quarter, representing a year-on-year increase of nearly 70%.

Following the announcement, Samsung shares rose as much as 4.8% in early trading before trimming gains later in the session.

The strong outlook is largely attributed to the company’s memory chip business, particularly high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI computing. Demand for these chips has surged over the past year, leading to supply shortages and driving up prices across the semiconductor market.

Samsung’s Device Solutions division, which includes its memory chip operations, remains a key contributor to overall performance, accounting for a significant share of revenue and profits.

The results also suggest that Samsung is strengthening its position in the high-bandwidth memory segment, where it has faced competition from domestic rival SK Hynix.

The company is expected to release its full earnings report later this month.