At the core of the results was explosive growth in Samsung’s semiconductor business, supported by both higher shipment volume and stronger pricing. According to the earnings report, first-quarter revenue at the DS division reached 81.7 trillion won, up 86% from the previous quarter, while operating profit totaled 53.7 trillion won, accounting for 93.9% of the company’s total operating profit and exceeding the market’s prior consensus estimate of 40.42 trillion won. The memory business was the main growth engine, benefiting from a global surge in AI infrastructure investment. Demand for high-value products such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and server DRAM rose sharply, while tight industry supply continued to push average selling prices higher, driving both revenue and profit in the memory segment to record levels.
By business segment, Samsung Electronics showed a clear pattern of semiconductor outperformance alongside steady results from its traditional businesses. The DX division, which includes mobile and consumer electronics, posted first-quarter revenue of 52.7 trillion won and operating profit of just 3 trillion won, making a relatively limited contribution to earnings. Within semiconductors, high-margin products such as HBM served as the key source of incremental profit. Samsung, leveraging its technological leadership in HBM, moved early into mass production of advanced products such as HBM4, with pricing per unit reaching $500 to $560 and gross margins exceeding 80%, making the company one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI chip boom.
At the industry level, the global semiconductor market is entering what many view as an AI-driven memory supercycle. Demand for high-performance memory used in large AI model training and inference is rising exponentially, while HBM, advanced DRAM, and enterprise NAND flash remain in short supply, pushing prices steadily higher. As a leading global semiconductor manufacturer and memory chip supplier, Samsung has capitalized on this trend through its fully integrated supply chain and deep technological barriers, delivering a step-change in earnings growth.
Looking ahead, Samsung Electronics said it will continue to increase investment in AI semiconductors, with plans to further expand HBM capacity in 2026 and accelerate development of advanced process technologies in order to strengthen its leadership in high-end memory and AI chips. Industry analysts said continued growth in AI demand could extend the current upcycle in memory chips, allowing Samsung’s semiconductor business to maintain elevated profitability and support further improvement in the company’s overall results.