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Headquarters of Samsung in Mountain View, California, on October 28, 2018.
Smith Assortment/gado | Archive Images | Getty Pictures
Samsung Electronics reported an over threefold surge in fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday, hitting a brand new file and beating analysts’ estimates, as a reminiscence chip scarcity and powerful demand for synthetic intelligence servers lifted earnings.
Shares of Samsung Electronics rose 2.58% on the open on Thursday earlier than reversing course, falling 1.54% in morning commerce.
In an earnings name, Samsung executives famous that whereas surging reminiscence costs have benefited its chip enterprise, rising prices are additionally anticipated to impression its smartphone and show companies transferring ahead.
Samsung additionally mentioned that its capital expenditure declined for the complete 12 months of 2025 because it maintained a “conservative funding strategy,” although it anticipated to ramp up its reminiscence investments this 12 months.
Listed below are Samsung’s fourth-quarter outcomes in contrast with LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted towards forecasts from analysts who’re extra persistently correct:
- Income: 93.8 trillion Korean gained ($65.58 billion) vs. 93.318 trillion gained anticipated
- Working revenue: 20.1 trillion gained vs. 20.018 trillion gained anticipated
The South Korean expertise large’s quarterly income rose about 24% from a 12 months earlier to hit a brand new file. In the meantime, its working revenue climbed over 200% 12 months over 12 months.
The earnings surpassed Samsung’s long-standing file of 17.6 trillion gained set within the third quarter of 2018, whereas matching Samsung’s personal steerage of round 20 trillion gained.
Samsung, South Korea’s largest firm by market capitalization, is a number one supplier of reminiscence chips, semiconductor foundry providers and smartphones.
The corporate mentioned in its earnings report that its reminiscence enterprise had helped drive earnings, setting all-time highs for quarterly income and working revenue, pushed by an total market worth surge, gross sales of high-bandwidth reminiscence and different high-value-added merchandise.
Excessive-bandwidth reminiscence, or HBM, is a kind of reminiscence utilized in chipsets for AI knowledge facilities, and Samsung has shifted extra focus to the expertise over the previous 12 months, below its Machine Options (DS) Division.
Makers of AI chipsets, similar to Nvidia, have been clamoring for restricted provides of HBM, with demand outpacing provide.
As reminiscence corporations prioritize capability to fulfill that profitable demand, it has contributed to a scarcity throughout the broader market, pushing up costs of chips utilized in private computer systems and cell units.
This has been a boon for reminiscence giants like Samsung in addition to its rival SK Hynix, which reported file earnings on Wednesday.
“Looking forward to Q1 2026, the DS Division expects AI and server demand to proceed rising, resulting in extra alternatives for structural progress,” the corporate mentioned.
“In response, the Division will proceed to deal with profitability through a powerful emphasis on high-performance merchandise,” it added.
Smartphones
Samsung’s cell expertise and networks companies, tasked with growing and promoting smartphones, tablets, wearables and different units, posted weaker ends in the fourth quarter.
Working revenue on the division fell to 1.9 trillion gained, down 9.5% from a 12 months earlier and over 45% from the earlier quarter.
The corporate mentioned the losses have been attributable to “lowered launch results” from new smartphone fashions and intense market competitors.
Looking forward to the primary quarter of 2026, Samsung mentioned it plans to strengthen its AI smartphone push by introducing what it calls “Agentic AI experiences” with the launch of its upcoming Galaxy S26 collection.
The corporate additionally goals to handle increased element prices by leveraging its provider partnerships to optimize assets and the provision chain.
In the meantime, earnings from Samsung’s show enterprise, which provides screens for shopper electronics, greater than doubled to 2 trillion gained within the December quarter, boosted by strong gross sales from smartphone manufacturers.
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