Samsung Electronics posted an operating profit of $6.66 billion for the third quarter, supported by momentum across its core businesses. The semiconductor unit, however, told a different story, with profit dropping 40 percent from a year earlier to $2.83 billion, a figure that fell well short of the roughly $4.9 billion analysts had anticipated. The company attributed the weakness to a combination of one-off payments to employees and unfavorable currency movements, while investors weighed these headwinds against stronger performances elsewhere in the portfolio, Reuters reported.
On the competitive front, SK hynix reported a record operating profit near $5 billion, underscoring the divergent trajectories within the chip sector between memory-focused players and others. Taiwan’s TSMC delivered results that pleased investors with its quarterly performance, illustrating resilience in select segments even as the broader market remained cautious. Reuters highlighted these contrasts as market watchers recalibrated expectations for the rest of the year.
Analysts noted that Samsung’s logic components division widened its losses in the quarter. In a strategic move, the company chose not to accept lithography equipment from ASML for logic components tied to a new Texas-based contract manufacturing facility, a decision that signals the company’s careful approach to its manufacturing roadmap amid evolving supply chain dynamics.
In the mobile segment, demand for memory products was softer, and operating profit slipped 15 percent year over year to $2 billion. The softer momentum in memory aligns with broader cycles in the memory market, where pricing pressures and inventory levels have weighed on margins for several peers as well.
Looking ahead, full-year semiconductor investments are expected to approach $34.7 billion, underscoring Samsung’s ongoing push to expand capacity and advance processing technology. Despite these higher upfront costs, net income surpassed forecasts, topping $7 billion on the strength of smartphone and wearable device sales, a result Reuters noted as a bright spot amid mixed chip results.
Overall revenue rose 17 percent in the quarter to $57.4 billion. Samsung continues to allocate capital to artificial intelligence initiatives and signaled a cautious outlook for memory demand, predicting continued softness in mobile devices and personal computers in the near term. The management tone suggested a balance between growth initiatives and risk controls as the company navigates a complex tech cycle.
Earlier in the year, the smartphone market had shown its strongest growth since the onset of the pandemic, a backdrop that helped Samsung’s consumer-facing businesses carry portions of the earnings load even as the chip segment faced headwinds.