Samsung Electronics recorded an operating profit of more than 6 trillion won in its semiconductor division for the second quarter of this year. The company announced its second-quarter earnings on July 31, reporting sales of 74.07 trillion won and an operating profit of 10.44 trillion won, marking year-over-year increases of 23.4% and 1,462%, respectively.
Earlier this month, Samsung had projected second-quarter sales of 74 trillion won and an operating profit of 10.4 trillion won. The finalized results, broken down by division, confirmed these estimates.
The Device Solutions (DS) division, responsible for semiconductors, led the overall performance with an operating profit of 6.45 trillion won. The semiconductor division had returned to profitability in the first quarter with an operating profit of 1.91 trillion won after five quarters of losses, and the profit surge continued into the second quarter.
The significant increase in the semiconductor division’s operating profit was driven by a revival in the memory chip market. The division’s operating profit accounted for more than half of Samsung’s total operating profit. Demand for high-value products such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and DDR5 (DRAM), fueled by the generative artificial intelligence (AI) boom, contributed to this growth. Samsung stated, “The expansion in sales of server-centric products such as HBM and DDR5, along with the demand for high-value products for generative AI servers, significantly improved performance compared to the previous quarter.”
Samsung held a 43.9% share of the global DRAM market and a 36.7% share of the NAND flash market as of the first quarter, leading in both categories.
In addition to memory, the System LSI division also saw substantial improvement, achieving record-high sales for the first half of the year. This growth was driven by an increased supply of SoC, image sensors, and DDI products for new products from major customers. The foundry sector also reported nearly doubling its customer numbers in the AI and high-performance computing (HPC) fields compared to the previous year, thanks to increased orders for advanced processes below 5 nanometers.
The mobile business (MX division) recorded an operating profit of 2.23 trillion won. This was slightly lower than the first quarter’s 3.5 trillion won, due to reduced effects from the early-year launch of the Galaxy S24 series. However, with the recent launch of new foldable smartphones Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6, and the debut of the wearable Smart Ring, market reception is positive, and a rebound in operating profit is expected in the third quarter.
The VD and Home Appliances division, which handles TVs and home appliances, posted a profit of 490 billion won in the second quarter. This was slightly lower than the 740 billion won profit from the same period last year. Samsung plans to continue improving its business structure by expanding global sales of new AI-powered home appliances and increasing B2B sales, such as system air conditioners and built-in appliances.
Samsung also increased its total facility investments in the second quarter, with investments rising by 800 billion won from the previous quarter to 12.1 trillion won. Approximately 82% of this, or 9.9 trillion won, was invested in the semiconductor division. Samsung stated, “We will continue to invest in facilities and R&D to secure future competitiveness.”
