Samsung Electronics said its fourth-quarter operating profit more than tripled to a record 20 trillion won, as demand tied to artificial intelligence boosted memory-chip prices while worsening a shortage of key chips.
The company said the AI boom is straining chip supply and lifting prices, helping its main semiconductor business but creating cost pressure for other areas such as smartphones and displays.
Samsung reported 20 trillion won in operating profit for the October-to-December quarter, matching the company’s own estimate and rising from 6.49 trillion won a year earlier. Reuters also reported quarterly revenue of 93.8 trillion won, up 24% from a year earlier. Bloomberg, citing Samsung’s preliminary results, reported revenue rose 23% to 93 trillion won and described it as a record.
CNBC said the fourth-quarter operating profit result beat analysts’ expectations and surpassed Samsung’s previous record of 17.6 trillion won from the third quarter of 2018. CNBC also said Samsung’s shares rose 2.4% on Thursday after the earnings update.
AI-driven memory squeeze
Samsung said “The ongoing AI boom is expected to continue driving favourable market conditions across the industry” in the first quarter of 2026. Reuters reported Samsung forecast the chip shortage will worsen this year because of the AI boom.
Investing.com and Yahoo Finance, carrying the Reuters report, said operating profit at Samsung’s chip business surged 470% to a record 16.4 trillion won in the fourth quarter. That performance underscored the pricing power of the world’s top memory chipmaker as AI development strains supply.
CNBC said Samsung highlighted its memory segment as a major driver of results, posting record quarterly revenue and operating profit on higher market prices and strong sales of high-bandwidth memory and other premium products. CNBC described high-bandwidth memory (HBM) as a product used in chipsets for AI data centers and said demand has outstripped supply, contributing to limited availability.
Impact on phones and displays
Samsung warned that rising memory-chip prices are weighing on its smartphone and display business, Reuters reported. Reuters also said Samsung’s mobile business is expected to face rising cost pressures this year.
In an interview cited by Reuters, Samsung co-CEO TM Roh called the chip shortage “unprecedented” and said he did not rule out raising prices. Reuters also said Samsung flagged other lingering risks, including global tariffs.
CNBC reported that Samsung’s mobile experience and networks division had weaker performance in the fourth quarter and said the company pointed to “re launch effects” from new models and intense competition. CNBC also said Samsung plans to boost its AI smartphone push by introducing what it calls “Agentic AI experiences” with the upcoming launch of its Galaxy S26 series.
Outlook and competitive push
Bloomberg said Samsung’s chip unit beat expectations with a more than five-fold profit gain, framing the result as a positive signal for an AI spending wave that is driving memory demand. Bloomberg also reported Samsung plans to expand sales of AI-related chips and is on track to begin delivering its next-generation HBM4 to Nvidia in the first quarter, as it tries to catch up with SK Hynix in a high-margin product used for AI accelerators.
In market trading described by Reuters, Samsung shares—up nearly 40% this year—rose 1.2% in morning trade, while SK Hynix shares rose 3.7%. Bloomberg separately reported Samsung’s shares gained more than 1% in extended trading.
