Lead

Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday estimated its second-quarter operating profit at nearly 90 trillion won (US$58.8 billion), marking another quarterly record as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-related semiconductors boosted earnings, according to the company's earnings guidance reported by Yonhap News.

The South Korean technology giant said operating profit for the April-June period is expected to total 89.4 trillion won, up 1,181 percent from a year earlier. The estimate exceeded the average market forecast by 6.2 percent, according to Yonhap Infomax, the financial data arm of Yonhap News Agency.

Coverage Comparison

The earnings guidance, released Tuesday, has been reported by Yonhap News, South Korea's leading wire service. Both reports from Yonhap emphasize the record-breaking nature of the quarterly profit, attributing it to strong demand for AI-related semiconductors and continued global investment in AI infrastructure.

The reports note that the earnings outlook includes provisions for employee bonuses. Excluding those provisions, quarterly operating profit is estimated to have reached around 100 trillion won. A separate Yonhap report also mentions that analysts expect the supply shortage to persist at least through 2027, strengthening the pricing power of Samsung and its rivals, and that the consensus forecast for the company's full-year operating profit has risen to 37.4 trillion won from 36.6 trillion won.

Key Claims

  • Samsung Electronics estimated its second-quarter operating profit at 89.4 trillion won, up 1,181 percent from a year earlier, as reported by Yonhap News.
  • The estimate exceeded the average market forecast by 6.2 percent, according to Yonhap Infomax.
  • Excluding provisions for employee bonuses, quarterly operating profit is estimated to have reached around 100 trillion won.
  • Under a wage agreement reached in May, Samsung will grant a special semiconductor performance bonus equivalent to 10.5 percent of business performance earnings. The bonuses will be paid in company stock over at least 10 years and will be tied to performance targets for the semiconductor business. The provision for the bonuses is estimated at around 20 trillion won.
  • Second-quarter revenue is estimated to have risen 129.3 percent from a year earlier to 171 trillion won. Net profit was not included in the earnings guidance.
  • Samsung Electronics posted an operating profit of 43.6 trillion won for all of 2025. The estimated second-quarter profit alone is more than double the company's full-year operating profit last year.
  • If confirmed, Samsung will have posted record quarterly revenue and operating profit for a third consecutive quarter since the fourth quarter of last year.
  • Samsung did not provide a detailed breakdown of earnings by business division, although its device solutions unit, which includes the semiconductor segment, is believed to have accounted for a dominant share.
  • The strong performance is widely attributed to continued growth in global investment in AI infrastructure.
  • Analysts expect the supply shortage to persist at least through 2027, strengthening the pricing power of Samsung and its rivals.
  • The consensus forecast for the company's full-year operating profit has risen to 37.4 trillion won from 36.6 trillion won.
While the earnings guidance reflects the provisions for employee bonuses, the underlying performance is considered even stronger, as the provisions weigh on the reported figures.