Photo: Cristiano Tomás / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
Samsung Electronics reported record quarterly revenue and operating profit Thursday in South Korea, as demand for artificial-intelligence memory chips powered its semiconductor business. The gains contrasted with an operating loss in its consumer-device division.
The company posted third-quarter revenue of 195.3 trillion Korean won, up 14% from the previous quarter, and operating profit of 107.4 trillion won, according to its official earnings release. Samsung described both figures as quarterly records.
Its Device Solutions division, which includes semiconductors, generated 147.1 trillion won in revenue and 106.5 trillion won in operating profit. Samsung said its memory business reached record revenue and operating profit, helped by a sales mix focused on AI products and stronger server demand that pushed up market prices.
The company said it substantially increased sales of HBM4 high-bandwidth memory and responded to growing demand for server solid-state drives. Its foundry business also reported improved revenue and earnings, citing HBM base-die sales, advanced manufacturing processes and orders from customers using its 2-nanometer technology.
Consumer businesses face cost pressure
The Device eXperience division, which includes Samsung’s consumer-device operations, reported an operating loss of 0.8 trillion won despite an 8% increase in revenue from the previous quarter.
Within that division, the mobile and networks businesses had combined revenue of 37.7 trillion won and an operating loss of 0.6 trillion won. Revenue rose from both the previous quarter and a year earlier, driven mainly by new flagship launches including foldable phones. Samsung said earnings improved from the previous quarter but fell from a year earlier because of cost pressure.
The television and digital-appliance businesses recorded combined revenue of 13.9 trillion won and an operating loss of 0.2 trillion won. Samsung cited higher costs in both businesses, including raw-material and logistics costs for appliances.
Samsung Display reported revenue of 8 trillion won and operating profit of 1.1 trillion won. Harman’s earnings improved with higher automotive and audio sales, as well as non-recurring U.S. tariff refunds, the company said.
Dividend totals 30 trillion won
Samsung announced a third-quarter cash dividend of 4,601 won for each common and preferred share, totaling 30 trillion won.
The company estimates total shareholder returns for 2026 at 90 trillion to 110 trillion won. It said the final amount and specific plans for remaining returns, along with its next shareholder-return policy, will be decided at a board meeting scheduled for late January 2027.
Third-quarter capital expenditure was 29 trillion won. Samsung expects full-year capital expenditure of about 84.4 trillion won, including 76.8 trillion won for its semiconductor division and 3.9 trillion won for Samsung Display.
JBizNews Desk | Seoul
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