Samsung's operating profit surges 1,458% in Q2 2024 on strong chip business

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Samsung Electronics reported higher-than-expected quarterly revenue and operating profit in the second quarter of 2024, supported by demand for advanced memory chips crucial for artificial intelligence (AI) models.

The South Korean giant’s net income rose nearly sixfold to 9.64 trillion won ($6.96 billion) in the quarter ended June 30, 2024, beating analysts' expectations of 7.97 trillion won.

Operating profit increased 1,458.2% year-on-year (YoY) to 10.44 trillion won, higher than expectations of 9.53 trillion won. In addition, revenue rose 23.42% YoY to 74.07 trillion won.

Samsung’s profit growth was attributed to its semiconductor unit, whose operating profit reached 6.45 trillion won, with rising memory chip prices and strong demand for high-bandwidth memory chips. Sales increased by more than 50% YoY.

The world's largest manufacturer of memory chips and smartphones plans to meet the demand from the AI boom by expanding sales of the latest AI memory product, HBM3E, through capacity expansion in H2 2024.

The company also indicated a decline in demand for smartphones in the seasonally weak quarter, especially in the higher-priced mobile phone segment.