Samsung Misses Q2 2025 Expectations as Profit Plunges 56%

Samsung has released its Q2 2025 earnings guidance, and the numbers are grim. The tech giant reported a steep 56% plunge in operating profit, coming in at just 4.6 trillion won (around $3.4 billion). That’s well below analyst estimates, which ranged from 5.5 trillion to 6.3 trillion won, marking a significant earnings miss.

Samsung suffered a huge profit drop in Q2 2025 as it struggled to penetrate the HBM market

According to Samsung’s official release, consolidated sales revenue for Q2 2025 came in at 74 trillion won. While this figure is flat year-over-year, it’s a slight dip from the 79.14 trillion won reported in Q1 2025. However, the real concern lies in the company’s operating profit, which saw a steep decline.

Despite generating 10.44 trillion won in profit on the same revenue during Q2 last year, Samsung posted just 4.6 trillion won in operating profit this time around — its Q1 2025 profit was 6.7 trillion won. This sharp drop suggests significant losses in key business units, most likely in its semiconductor division. The company hasn’t been able to attract big clients to its foundry and has also failed to enter Nvidia’s HBM supply chain.

Nvidia, the world’s largest AI chipmaker, aims to diversify its HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) suppliers as it ramps up its AI portfolio. However, Samsung’s advanced HBM solutions have yet to meet its performance requirements. Despite multiple evaluations and adjustments, the Korean firm just hasn’t managed to hit that sweet spot.

Moreover, the US trade restrictions on China have affected Samsung’s business, resulting in a profit drop. It remains to be seen if the Korean behemoth can turn things around in the second half of the year. It has a bunch of new mobile products, including a fresh wave of foldables and watches, coming up soon. However, Samsung must get its foundry business back on track and penetrate the HBM market to substantially improve its profits. The company will share its outlook for the rest of the year later this month.