This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Samsung Electronics (SSNLF), the world’s largest memory chipmaker, is expected to deliver another major signal for the global AI trade when it reports preliminary second-quarter results on Tuesday. Analysts tracked by Bloomberg project operating profit of 84.3 trillion won, or $55.1 billion, for the quarter ended June, an 18-fold jump from a year earlier and higher than Samsung’s profit for all of 2025. Revenue is forecast to rise 127% to a record 169 trillion won, raising the stakes for investors after a sharp rally in global chip stocks began to show signs of turbulence.
The key driver remains surging demand for high-performance memory chips used to train and run large AI systems such as Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. That demand has helped create a global supply crunch, lifting memory prices and margins for Samsung and SK Hynix (HXSCL), its South Korean memory-chip peer. HSBC said average DRAM selling prices rose more than 40% in the April-June quarter from the previous quarter, while NAND prices jumped more than 50%. Samsung Group and SK Group are also planning two chipmaking plants each in southwest South Korea for a combined 800 trillion won, as the industry races to expand capacity.
Investors may see Samsung’s results as a key test of whether the AI memory boom still has room to run after the stock doubled last quarter and climbed more than 160% this year. The setup remains demanding, with Samsung recently falling nearly 9% over five sessions as volatility across major semiconductor stocks hit the highest level since 2020. A result near consensus could support confidence in the memory cycle, especially after Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), a U.S. memory-chip maker, issued a quarterly sales forecast above Wall Street estimates. Still, investors will likely watch closely for signs of slowing price momentum, high-bandwidth memory demand, and whether lofty expectations leave Samsung with little room for disappointment.