Samsung’s third-quarter profit surges 160% as chip business bounces back from brutal slump

Samsung Electronics reported a rebound in earnings on Thursday, with operating profit more than doubling from the previous quarter on a rebound in its chip business. 

Here are Samsung’s third-quarter results compared with LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate:

• Revenue: 86.1 trillion Korean won vs. 85.93 trillion won 
• Operating profit: 12.2 trillion won vs. 11.25 trillion won

The South Korean technology giant’s quarterly revenue was up 8.85% from a year earlier, while its first-quarter operating profit climbed 32.9% year-over-year. 

The earnings represent a bounce back from the June quarter, which had been weighed down by a massive slump in Samsung’s chip business. Operating profit increased by 160% compared to June, while revenue increased by 15.5% over the same period. 

Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s largest company by market capitalization, is a leading provider of memory chips, semiconductor foundry services and smartphones.

Samsung’s chip business reported a 19% increase in sales from the June quarter, with its memory business setting an all-time high for quarterly sales, driven by strong demand from artificial intelligence.

The third-quarter operating profit also beat Samsung’s own guidance of around 12.1 trillion Korean won.