Samsung shares slide more than 4% despite the South Korean giant posting tech's biggest ever quarterly profit of $80bn
Samsung shares fell on Thursday despite the record quarterly result, with investors wary about whether AI spending will hold at current levels.
Samsung recorded an $80bn operating profit — the first time any tech company has surpassed 100 trillion won in a single quarter — but the figure fell short of analyst expectations of 107.66 trillion won, triggering a selloff despite four consecutive quarters of record earnings. Investors were also rattled by Samsung's decision to defer its next shareholder-return policy to a board meeting in January 2027.
Samsung's semiconductor division generated 106.5 trillion won, accounting for 99.1% of the group's total operating profit, with HBM4 chip revenue more than tripling quarter-on-quarter.
Net profit of 75.1 trillion won missed the 89.06 trillion won figure projected by Bloomberg, dragged down by a 9.5 trillion won financing and income loss and a 0.6 trillion won operating loss in the Galaxy phone division.
Samsung says its 2027 HBM supply is already sold out, with demand expected to outstrip supply further next year — rival SK Hynix forecasts the memory shortage lasting until 2030.
