Samsung Electronics achieved its highest-ever results by surpassing 100 trillion won in operating profit in a single quarter for the first time among global tech companies in the third quarter of this year.
Earning over 106 trillion won from its semiconductor business alone, it set a new record for its largest quarterly performance for the fourth consecutive quarter. Along with SK hynix, which announced an operating profit of 83 trillion won on the previous day, exceeding market expectations, 'K-semiconductors' appear to be dismissing the so-called 'semiconductor peak theory' raised by some quarters.
Samsung Electronics announced its finalized results for the third quarter of this year on the 29th, with consolidated revenue of 195.2532 trillion won and an operating profit of 107.4405 trillion won.
Revenue increased by approximately 127% and operating profit by approximately 783% compared to the same period last year. Both revenue and operating profit are at all-time highs. Rising memory semiconductor prices and expanded sales of high-value-added products drove the improvement in profitability.
The majority of the operating profit came from the DS (Device Solutions) division, which handles the semiconductor business. The DS division recorded revenue of 147.1 trillion won and an operating profit of 106.5 trillion won.
The operating profit margin was tallied at 72.4%. Considering that the foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) business unit and the System LSI business unit are still in the red, the operating profit margin of the memory business unit is estimated to be around 77%. This is slightly lower than SK hynix's 80%.
This is due to the continued rise in commodity DRAM prices and the full-scale supply of HBM4 (6th-generation high-bandwidth memory) for NVIDIA's next-generation AI (artificial intelligence) platform 'Vera Rubin'.
It was reported that Samsung Electronics has been pushing a plan to raise DRAM contract prices by up to 20% compared to the previous quarter in the third quarter. The foundry business is also estimated to have narrowed its losses thanks to the expansion of production for 4-nanometer (nm; 1 nm = one-billionth of a meter) base dies for HBM4 and mass production of NVIDIA's AI inference chip 'Groq3'.
However, the DX (Device eXperience) division, centered on finished products, recorded revenue of 52.1 trillion won and an operating loss of 800 billion won. It posted losses for the second consecutive quarter, following an operating loss of 800 billion won in the previous quarter.
The smartphone business is analyzed to have seen deteriorating profitability due to increased cost burdens from rising memory prices. The TV and home appliance businesses are also interpreted as being affected by intensified global competition and cost pressures.
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