Samsung is expecting to hit over $38 billion (KRW 57.2 trillion) in operating profits for the first quarter of 2026, fueled by its semiconductor division. The figure would represent all-time high quarterly earnings and a 753% rise compared to the Q1, 2025 earnings. The Q1 earnings would also trump Samsung’s entire 2025 annual profit, which is a remarkable feat.
| Consolidated figures based on K-IFRS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| (in trillion won) | 2026 Q1 (guidance) | 2025 Q4 | 2025 Q1 |
| Sales | 133 | 93.84 | 79.14 |
| Operating profit | 57.2 | 20.07 | 6.69 |
Here’s an interesting graphic from Reuters News, which visualizes Samsung’s Q1 profits and how they stack up with previous quarters.
Samsung Q1 2026 profits vs yearly profits for 2016-2025 (Source: Reuters)
As you might have guessed, the record earnings are fueled by Samsung’s semiconductor division, which continues to dominate the memory business with clients like Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and OpenAI all lining up for Samsung HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) chips for their AI data centers.
In addition, demand for DRAM memory and NAND flash storage chips is also not slowing down, which puts Samsung in a very favorable and lucrative position. According to analysts, Samsung could reach upwards of $220 billion in operating profits for 2026 and an even more impressive $330 billion in 2027.
