Samsung’s Operating Profit Could Surpass KRW 10 Trillion in Q3 2025

While Samsung saw an increase in operating profit during the first three months of 2025, it faced headwinds in the second quarter, with profit of KRW 4.7 trillion. However, expectations for the third quarter are high, thanks to the company’s strong performance in the semiconductor business. The operating profit could surpass KRW 10 trillion (~$7.1 billion), which is a significant recovery over the last two quarters.

Samsung’s third-quarter financial outlook looks positive

Samsung’s Device Solutions (DS) division, which operates the semiconductor business, is expected to contribute greatly to this growth. In Q2 2025, the division posted an operating profit of just KRW 400 billion. However, research firms expect much stronger results for the third quarter, with operating profit estimated at around KRW 5 trillion. This is the main reason behind the positive outlook for the company’s potential third-quarter earnings.

Market consensus (via ETNews) for Q3 2025 expects sales of KRW 83.55 trillion and an operating profit of KRW 9.75 trillion, with forecasts ranging from a low of KRW 7.66 trillion to a high of KRW 10.69 trillion. If these expectations pan out, Samsung’s total operating profit for the third quarter will be more than double the KRW 4.7 trillion (Q2 2025) and higher than the KRW 9.18 trillion (Q3 2024).

According to the outlet, three key factors may help improve Q3 performance:

1. Narrowing the deficit in the foundry business thanks to increased orders.
2. Higher shipments of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) boosted revenue.
3. The company increased the average selling prices (ASP) of general memory.

Samsung’s foundry business could see a deficit of less than KRW 1 trillion in the third quarter from around KRW 2 trillion in Q2 2025. It has also received orders from Qualcomm’s subsidiary, Autotalks, to produce chips for autonomous vehicles. Meanwhile, the HBM segment is showing signs of recovery thanks to increasing demand from AI data centers.

Furthermore, the company’s Mobile Experience (MX) division may also contribute to growth, thanks to the new foldable smartphones. Hopefully, these early forecasts will pan out when the company officially releases its financial results in the coming weeks.