In the first quarter of 2026, Samsung Electronics recorded operating profit of 57.2 trillion won ($37.8 billion) — a 755% year-over-year increase. According to Reuters, this marks the first time in history that any South Korean company has exceeded the 50 trillion won mark in a single quarter. Samsung's previous record of 20.07 trillion won was set just in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The figure exceeded LSEG analyst forecasts of 40.6 trillion won and, according to preliminary data, exceeded the company's total operating profit for the entire 2025 year.
Memory chips account for 95% of results
The semiconductor division (Device Solutions) generated approximately 54 trillion won — roughly 95% of total profit. The catalyst was driven by two simultaneous factors: DRAM and NAND flash prices nearly doubled over the quarter amid supply shortages, while demand for server memory for AI infrastructure shows no signs of slowing. Total revenue reached 133 trillion won ($88 billion) — up 68% year-over-year.
"This is the highest result in Samsung Electronics' entire history."
— from the company's official preliminary results report
Record despite loss in key segment
And here begins the unexpected twist in this story. HBM chips (high-bandwidth memory) — the very type of memory that powers GPUs for training AI models — brought Samsung less than 10% of DRAM revenues, according to Heungkuk Securities analyst Son In-jun. Meanwhile SK Hynix, the main competitor, controls over 62% of the HBM market by shipments, with Samsung and Micron splitting the remainder equally — about a quarter each.
The company has already suffered reputational damage: Samsung's HBM3E failed to pass Nvidia qualification for an extended period. According to Digitimes, Samsung is now close to a deal to supply over 30% of Nvidia's HBM4 chips in 2026 — an attempt to regain position through the next generation product.
What's next
Analyst Son In-jun forecasts that in the current quarter Samsung's operating profit could reach 75 trillion won — if the memory price cycle doesn't reverse. The global semiconductor market in 2026 is approaching the $975 billion mark, with the memory segment growing at approximately 30% year-over-year, according to WSTS.
Samsung is demonstrating record profit at a moment when its share in the most profitable segment — HBM for Nvidia — remains minimal. If Nvidia's HBM4 qualification succeeds and Samsung secures over 30% of supplies, the coming quarters will show whether the company can convert technical catch-up into structural advantage — or whether 2026's record remains an artifact of a general price boom rather than its own technological superiority.
