Samsung Electronics set a new record for the highest quarterly operating profit among all private companies worldwide in the second quarter of this year (April–June), posting KRW 89.4 trillion in operating profit. This surpassed the previous record high set just before by Nvidia, the world’s largest artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor company by market capitalization. Among all companies that have announced results this year, Samsung ranks first globally. The figure reflects provisions of approximately KRW 17 trillion–19 trillion earmarked for employee performance bonuses, and the actual operating profit before these bonuses is estimated to have exceeded at least KRW 106 trillion in the second quarter.

Samsung Electronics announced in a regulatory filing on the 7th that, on a consolidated basis, its preliminary second-quarter sales came to KRW 171 trillion and operating profit to KRW 89.4 trillion. Compared with the same period a year earlier, sales increased 129.31% and operating profit surged 1,810.26%. Versus the previous quarter, sales rose 27.74% and operating profit climbed 56.21%. The figure is larger even than Nvidia’s all-time record quarterly operating profit (USD 53.5 billion, about KRW 81.75 trillion, in February–April this year). Even when including state-owned companies, the only firm whose quarterly results exceeded Samsung Electronics’ is Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian state-owned oil company, which posted operating profit of USD 86.5 billion (about KRW 132 trillion) in the second quarter of 2022. That was when international crude oil prices exceeded USD 100 per barrel due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

During the 91 days of the second quarter, Samsung Electronics generated close to KRW 1 trillion in operating profit per day (approximately KRW 980 billion). This exceeds the total operating profit the company earned over the past three years from 2023 through 2025 (KRW 82.894 trillion). It also outperformed the securities market consensus for second-quarter operating profit (KRW 85.5118 trillion) by about KRW 3.8882 trillion (4.55%).

In addition, the second-quarter operating profit figure includes provisions of about KRW 17 trillion–19 trillion for special performance bonuses in the semiconductor division. Samsung Electronics did not book these provisions in the first quarter (January–March), as labor-management talks had not been concluded, and instead recognized them in full in the second quarter.

This “record-breaking performance” was driven by an AI-led memory supercycle that sent prices sharply higher. Although results by business segment were not disclosed, the semiconductor (DS) division is known to have accounted for most of the company’s operating profit.

With expectations high that the semiconductor boom will continue into next year, major securities firms project Samsung Electronics’ full-year operating profit to reach KRW 360 trillion–388 trillion. Samsung Securities stated, “There is a high possibility that quarterly operating profit of more than KRW 100 trillion will continue for over a year.”

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