Samsung Profit Guidance Beats Estimates

Samsung's guidance for the third quarter of 2025 beat forecasts by analysts. Operating profit is expected to reach a three-year high, driven by brisk demand and rising prices for traditional memory products.

The company estimated operating profit in the July to September period jumped 31.8% year-on-year to KRW12.1 trillion ($8.5 billion), and sales increased 8.7% to KRW86 trillion. Its memory business, one of three in its DS division, is expected to record its largest quarterly revenue in seven years on a standalone basis. Moreover, its September revenue alone was forecast to hit a record high every month.

TrendForce reported in late September that DRAM suppliers had shifted focus to high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and server DDR5 products, creating a tighter supply for other DRAM types and pushing prices higher. Meanwhile, the research outfit expects NAND flash prices to rise between 5% and 10% in the current quarter.

Morgan Stanley said in a research note that it doesn’t expect the peak of the current memory supercycle, driven by the AI boom, to arrive until 2027. Last month, Samsung secured the long-awaited approval from Nvidia for its latest HBM product, following a redesign to address a heat issue. Samsung will release its full earnings later this month.