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Samsung Electronics Sets Record-Breaking Q1 2026 Performance Guidance
4/8/2026 10:43:49 PM
On April 7, Samsung Electronics officially released its unaudited earnings guidance for the first quarter of 2026, delivering what is arguably its strongest quarterly performance in history. According to the data, consolidated sales for Q1 reached approximately 133 trillion won (about RMB 606.5 billion), a year-on-year increase of 68.1%; consolidated operating profit surged to about 57.2 trillion won (about RMB 261.1 billion), a staggering 755% jump that far exceeded market expectations.
This guidance, based on Korean International Financial Reporting Standards (K-IFRS), projected an operating profit range of 57.1 trillion to 57.3 trillion won, with the median figure standing at 57.2 trillion won. Notably, the Q1 operating profit alone has already surpassed the full-year 2025 figure of 43.6 trillion won, and represents a 185% increase from the 20.07 trillion won recorded in Q4 2025, setting a new record for quarterly profit by a South Korean company.
The explosive growth is primarily attributed to an AI-driven surge in demand for memory chips. Amid fierce competition for AI server production capacity, prices and volumes for HBM, DRAM, and NAND flash have risen simultaneously. As the global memory leader, Samsung saw revenue from its HBM business grow by over 300%, making the memory division the absolute main contributor to profits. The company's strategy of shifting advanced capacity toward high-value-added products while scaling back older production lines has proven highly effective, leading to continuously expanding gross margins.
This guidance, based on Korean International Financial Reporting Standards (K-IFRS), projected an operating profit range of 57.1 trillion to 57.3 trillion won, with the median figure standing at 57.2 trillion won. Notably, the Q1 operating profit alone has already surpassed the full-year 2025 figure of 43.6 trillion won, and represents a 185% increase from the 20.07 trillion won recorded in Q4 2025, setting a new record for quarterly profit by a South Korean company.
The explosive growth is primarily attributed to an AI-driven surge in demand for memory chips. Amid fierce competition for AI server production capacity, prices and volumes for HBM, DRAM, and NAND flash have risen simultaneously. As the global memory leader, Samsung saw revenue from its HBM business grow by over 300%, making the memory division the absolute main contributor to profits. The company's strategy of shifting advanced capacity toward high-value-added products while scaling back older production lines has proven highly effective, leading to continuously expanding gross margins.
Samsung clarified that these figures are preliminary. The full financial report-including net profit, segment breakdowns, gross margin details, and an earnings call-will be released on April 23. Industry analysis suggests that with long-term robust demand for AI computing power, the memory chip price hike cycle is expected to continue into the second half of 2026, potentially keeping Samsung's profits at elevated levels.
According to a report by South Korean media ETNews citing industry sources, Samsung has overcome the "warpage" issue in its SOCAMM2 design-a major hurdle that had previously hindered the mass production of its next-generation AI server memory module (System on Chip Advanced Memory Module 2). The report notes that Samsung successfully resolved this problem by applying its self-developed next-generation Low-Temperature Solder (LTS) technology.
As explained in the report, warpage refers to the slight bending of components caused by heat during the manufacturing process, primarily due to a mismatch in the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) between different materials. SOCAMM2 is particularly prone to this issue due to its structural design, which involves assembling LPDDR5X chips into a module secured by bolt compression, thereby increasing the risk of connection failure.
To address this, Samsung reportedly lowered the soldering process temperature from over 260°C to below 150°C. By significantly reducing the peak temperature, the company minimized the effects of thermal expansion mismatch.
SOCAMM2 is a critical low-power memory module designed to work alongside HBM in NVIDIA's next-generation AI platform, Vera Rubin. The report further suggests that by applying LTS to SOCAMM2, Samsung is expected to gain a lead over competitors in both development and mass production timelines.
In addition to temperature control, Samsung has introduced several design improvements. The chip package structure was changed from a dual-tower to a single-tower configuration to enhance mechanical rigidity, while the thickness and thermal expansion properties of the Epoxy Molding Compound (EMC) were optimized. High-precision simulation models were also adopted to improve the accuracy of warpage prediction.
In related industry movements, TheElec reported that SK Hynix is accelerating its transition to the 1c (sixth-generation) DRAM process this year. This shift is expected to bolster its AI memory portfolio, including SOCAMM2. Meanwhile, the JoongAng Ilbo reported that in early March, Micron began shipping the world's first 256GB SOCAMM2 customer samples-offering approximately 33% greater capacity than the 192GB flagship products currently offered by Samsung and SK Hynix.
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