Samsung Posts Record Eightfold Profit Jump fueled by DRAM and NAND demand

Samsung Electronics reported Q1 2026 earnings guidance on April 7 that came in far above expectations. The company expects operating profit of 57.2 trillion won (about $37.9 billion), well above the 40.6 trillion won forecast tracked by LSEG.

That’s more than eight times higher than the 6.69 trillion won reported a year ago. The figure also nearly triples Samsung’s previous quarterly record of 20 trillion won, set just three months earlier. Revenue for the quarter is expected to reach approximately 133 trillion won, a 68% increase year-on-year, according to Samsung’s official guidance.

Why Commodity DRAM and NAND Drove the Beat

The most technically significant detail in Samsung’s Q1 result is where the profit came from.

As reported by SiliconAngle, Samsung’s chip division generated about 54 trillion won in operating profit, roughly 95% of the total, based on estimates from analyst Kim Sunwoo at Meritz Securities.

However, high-end HBM chips accounted for only 5% of chip revenue. The bulk of sales still came from standard memory like DRAM and NAND flash.

The driver is a supply squeeze. As cloud providers deploy AI models, trained large language models run continuously, generating real-time responses rather than short training bursts. This surges demand for server DRAM beyond available capacity.

Meanwhile, Samsung and other memory makers are redirecting production toward HBM for AI hardware. 

Micron recently acquired the Tonglu facility in Taiwan and is ramping up HBM production, raising competition in high-end memory. That reduces capacity for standard DRAM, tightening supply further.

Analysts expect DRAM contract prices to rise more than 50% this quarter, while NAND flash prices have already jumped over 30% quarter on quarter, according to Korean Times.

HBM4 and Samsung’s Position in the AI Chip Stack

The Wall Street Journal reported that Samsung Electronics began shipping its next-generation HBM4 chips to Nvidia in February 2026, narrowing the gap with rival SK Hynix, which has led the HBM market.

Samsung’s HBM4 uses a 4-nanometer FinFET logic die and reached speeds of up to 13 gigabits per second per pin, shown at ISSCC 2026. In simple terms, Samsung is combining its chip manufacturing and memory tech into a tightly integrated package for AI systems.

Meanwhile, reports noted that Samsung’s stock rose nearly 5% after the earnings update, as investors reacted positively. 

The stock had been under pressure due to concerns raised by Google’s research on TurboQuant compression, which suggested AI systems might use less memory in the future.

But the strong Q1 guidance pushed past analyst expectations. Industry signals suggest customers are buying memory early, expecting prices to rise further, a sign that actual contract prices are already higher than anticipated.

Where the Pressure Points Are

Samsung Electronics Q1 results need context to fully understand the picture.

According to SiliconAngle, Samsung’s mobile division generated about 4 trillion won in operating profit, slightly down from last year. Cheaper, older component inventory temporarily supported margins, but that support is short-lived. 

Analysts expect the mobile business to face increasing margin pressure in Q2 as rising memory and materials costs feed into device manufacturing costs.

Higher energy costs since the Iran conflict are adding uncertainty to chip supply chains and triggering an S&P energy warning. If energy prices stay elevated, large AI customers may slow down data center expansion. 

Despite that, the outlook remains strong. Analyst Sohn In-joon at Heungkuk Securities expects Samsung’s operating profit to climb further to around 75 trillion won in Q2 2026, driven by a projected 30% increase in DRAM prices.

Samsung will release full divisional earnings details on April 30.

Source: Samsung Electronics Announces Earnings Guidance for First Quarter 2026