Samsung's AI Chip Boom: Record Profits, Stock Falls

Samsung Electronics has reported a landmark achievement, with its July-September operating profit soaring to 107.4 trillion won ($80.5 billion), marking the first time any technology company has surpassed 100 trillion won in quarterly profit. This record-breaking performance, with net profit jumping over 510 percent year-on-year to 75.1 trillion won, is directly attributed to the massive global demand for AI chips.

The surge in demand is fueled by an intense race to build data centers essential for training and operating advanced AI tools like chatbots and image generators. Samsung, as the world's largest memory chip maker, is a key beneficiary of this AI investment boom.

However, investor sentiment turned cautious, leading to a more than five percent drop in Samsung's shares. This decline was reportedly due to the semiconductor division missing market profit expectations. Analysts noted that while chipmakers like Samsung and SK hynix are directly benefiting, the return on investment for companies purchasing these chips is still being evaluated.

Looking ahead, Samsung anticipates continued growth, predicting unprecedented demand for memory chips by 2027 driven by AI infrastructure expansion and personal AI agents. The company also plans significant shareholder returns, allocating up to 110 trillion won this year, including substantial cash dividends, mirroring similar moves by rival SK hynix.