Samsung's semiconductor division expects its 2026 operating profit to exceed everything it has earned in roughly 40 years of chipmaking combined, according to DS division president Kim Yong-kwan at a company town hall.
- Analysts expect Samsung's 2026 annual operating profit to reach around 300 trillion won (roughly US$200 billion), driven almost entirely by AI-related memory demand.
- Samsung's expected Q2 2026 operating profit of about US$55.1 billion would surpass Nvidia's US$53.54 billion, making it the world's most profitable company by that measure.
- Commodity DRAM prices rose about 90% in Q1 2026, another 50-60% in Q2, and Samsung is negotiating a further ~20% hike for Q3, so memory-heavy hardware is unlikely to get cheaper soon.
That is not executive bravado. Analysts currently expect Samsung to post an annual operating profit of around 300 trillion won for 2026, or roughly US$200 billion. The company is also expected to report about 84.6 trillion won (US$55.1 billion) in operating profit for Q2 alone, which would put it ahead of Nvidia’s Q1 figure of US$53.54 billion and make Samsung the world’s most profitable enterprise by operating profit.
Memory prices are doing the heavy lifting
The engine behind all of this is memory, and specifically the prices Samsung is charging for it. The DS division already posted a record Q1 2026 operating profit of 53.7 trillion won on revenue of 81.7 trillion won, with DRAM, NAND and HBM the main drivers. That single division contributed about 93.8% of Samsung’s total operating profit for the quarter, according to TrendForce.
The price trajectory on commodity DRAM tells the story on its own:
| Period | Commodity DRAM price change |
|---|---|
| Q1 2026 (vs Q4 2025) | +90% |
| Q2 2026 | +50-60% quarter-over-quarter |
| Q3 2026 | ~+20% under negotiation |
Mobile memory is following the same curve. LPDDR5X 12GB contract prices, which had already tripled since Q1 2025, hit around US$120 in late Q1 and have since climbed to roughly US$145 per unit, up US$68.8 since the start of the year. Those costs land squarely on the bill of materials for every phone, laptop and gaming PC that ships with modern memory, which is part of why Samsung’s own mobile division has warned it could lose money for the first time ever. Winning at memory, it turns out, makes life expensive for everyone buying memory, including Samsung.
Why relief is nowhere in sight
If you are hoping a wave of new supply crashes these prices back down, the timeline is not on your side. Samsung and SK hynix are undertaking a massive ₩800 trillion (roughly US$800 billion) fab cluster expansion in Korea, but meaningful production volumes are not expected until around 2033. As long as AI demand for DRAM and NAND stays strong, elevated memory prices are the medium-term reality, not a blip.
Forecasts do vary. One major Korean securities firm projects 2026 operating profit of 166 trillion won with memory contributing 149.3 trillion won, well below the 300 trillion won consensus figure, so there is genuine dispersion in how big this year ends up being. But every version of the forecast agrees on the direction: memory drives the earnings, and prices keep rising through at least Q3.
For readers in the UAE, there is nothing to buy or avoid here directly, but the knock-on effects are already familiar. Anything built around DRAM, NAND or LPDDR, from gaming PCs and graphics cards to flagship phones, is structurally anchored to these global contract prices. It is also the backdrop to why Samsung’s own workers are demanding a share of the AI memory windfall. When one division out-earns 40 years of company history in a single year, everyone from employees to PC builders notices where the money is going.
FAQ
What did Samsung say about its 2026 profit?
Kim Yong-kwan, president of Samsung's Device Solutions division, told a company town hall that the division's 2026 operating profit will exceed the cumulative profit it has earned over roughly 40 years in the semiconductor business. Analysts expect Samsung's 2026 annual operating profit to reach around 300 trillion won, or about US$200 billion.
Will Samsung be more profitable than Nvidia?
Samsung is expected to report around 84.6 trillion won (US$55.1 billion) in operating profit for Q2 2026. If it meets that forecast, it would surpass Nvidia's Q1 operating profit of US$53.54 billion, making Samsung the world's most profitable enterprise by operating profit.
Why are Samsung's memory prices rising so much?
AI-driven demand for DRAM, NAND and HBM has created severe supply shortages. Samsung raised commodity DRAM prices by about 90% in Q1 2026, another 50-60% in Q2, and is negotiating a further roughly 20% increase for Q3.
When will memory prices come down?
Not soon. Samsung and SK hynix are building a roughly US$800 billion memory fab cluster in Korea, but meaningful production volumes are not expected until around 2033. If AI demand stays strong, elevated DRAM and NAND prices are likely to persist for years.
