SEOUL — Driven by a historic supercycle in artificial intelligence memory chips, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. reported its highest-ever quarterly results for the second quarter of 2026, propelling its consolidated operating profit to an unprecedented 89.5 trillion won ($65 billion).
According to financial data released Thursday, the South Korean tech giant recorded Q2 consolidated revenue of 171.5 trillion won, representing a 28% surge from the previous quarter and a 130% jump year-over-year. Operating profit skyrocketed 1,814% compared to the same period last year, pushing the company’s operating margin to a staggering 52.2%.
The record-shattering performance was spearheaded by the Device Solutions (DS) semiconductor division, which generated 127.5 trillion won in revenue and 89.2 trillion won in operating profit. Memory sales alone surged 471% year-over-year to 120.8 trillion won. By focusing its limited manufacturing capacity on skyrocketing AI server demand, Samsung achieved record bit sales for both DRAM and NAND flash, while benefiting from sharply rising market prices. The company also expanded shipments of its industry-leading HBM4 memory and shipped samples of next-generation HBM4E to key global clients.
Looking ahead to the second half of the year, Samsung executives predicted that memory supply shortages will worsen as enterprise AI demand accelerates for DRAM, high-capacity enterprise SSDs, and HBM modules.
Conversely, the Device eXperience (DX) division, which encompasses smartphones and visual displays, felt the squeeze of rising component prices. The unit posted an operating loss of 800 billion won on revenue of 48 trillion won. Despite the cost pressures, the Mobile eXperience (MX) branch saw revenue growth behind strong Galaxy S26 sales, while the newly introduced Galaxy Z8 series set record pre-order figures.
Samsung continued its aggressive shareholder return policy, spending 5.63 trillion won on stock repurchases in Q2, boosting its net cash reserves to 167.6 trillion won. The company also noted it remains open to a potential U.S. American Depositary Receipts (ADR) listing as a long-term option to enhance shareholder value.
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