[비즈한국] Samsung Electronics005930 has achieved record-breaking quarterly results, reporting over 57 trillion won in operating profit for the first quarter of this year. Driven by a surge in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, the semiconductor division spearheaded this performance, resulting in a monumental achievement where a single quarter's profit surpassed the entire annual operating profit of the previous year.
On the 7th, Samsung Electronics announced preliminary results for the first quarter, reporting 133 trillion won in consolidated revenue and 57.2 trillion won in operating profit. All performance indicators showed a sharp upward trend. Revenue increased by 68.06% compared to the same period last year (79.1405 trillion won), and operating profit surged by 755.01% compared to the same period last year (6.6853 trillion won). Even when compared to the previous quarter, revenue grew by 41.73% and operating profit by 185%, demonstrating robust growth.
Both revenue and operating profit reached all-time highs on a quarterly basis. This is the first time Samsung Electronics' quarterly revenue has exceeded 100 trillion won. Notably, the Q1 operating profit (57.2 trillion won) is approximately 13.6 trillion won higher than the annual operating profit of 43.6011 trillion won recorded last year. It also significantly exceeded the market's initial consensus forecast (approximately 50 trillion won) by over 10%, marking an earnings surprise.
The Device Solutions (DS) division, responsible for the semiconductor business, boosted overall performance. Financial analysts estimate the DS division's operating profit alone to be between a minimum of 37 trillion won and a maximum of 48 trillion won. Detailed results by business division will be disclosed during the final earnings announcement later this month.
The primary contributor is next-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). Samsung Electronics secured technological leadership by expanding supply of its 5th-generation HBM3E products while being the first to supply 6th-generation HBM4 to Nvidia and unveiling the 7th-generation HBM4E. The rapid increase in the sales proportion of high-value products is interpreted as the decisive factor for improved profitability.
Rising prices of general-purpose memory following the expansion of global AI server investments also supported the performance. As data center investments and demand for high-performance computing increased, primarily led by global big tech companies, demand for server memory skyrocketed. Consequently, sales prices for DRAM and NAND flash rose sharply, leading to the reported performance improvement.
On the other hand, the Device Experience (DX) division, which handles finished product businesses, likely faced increased cost burdens due to rising memory prices. However, it is analyzed that the Mobile (MX) business unit bolstered company-wide performance by defending profits in the 2 trillion won range through a premium product sales strategy.
Samsung Electronics' stock price reacted immediately to the record-breaking earnings announcement. Following the opening of the market on the 7th, Samsung Electronics shares rose to 202,500 won, reclaiming the 200,000 won mark, and are trading at 197,000 won as of 10:05 AM, up 3,900 won (2.02%) from the previous trading day. This marks the first time in 11 trading days since the 20th of last month that Samsung Electronics has reclaimed the 200,000 won level during intraday trading.
Samsung Electronics plans to hold an earnings conference call at the end of April to provide details on the current management status of each business division and annual guidance for the convenience of investors. These preliminary results are estimates based on the Korea International Financial Reporting Standards (K-IFRS) and were provided to assist investor understanding while the final closing process is still underway.