Samsung Projects Strong Q1 2026 Earnings; 8x Profit Growth

Samsung has seen a robust start to 2026, with its Q1 earnings estimates surpassing market expectations. The company’s earnings guidance suggests a solid boost in both sales and operating profit. This is likely the result of rising demand for memory chips, which has also driven up prices.

A massive memory boom may have boosted earnings

Samsung has today announced its earnings guidance for the first quarter of 2026. The company expects consolidated sales of about 133 trillion won and an operating profit of around 57.2 trillion. In Q1 2025, the company posted sales of 79.14 trillion won and profit of 6.69 trillion won. This is a substantial year-on-year increase in sales (nearly 1.7x) and profit (more than 8.5x).

Note that these Q1 2026 earnings figures are not final at the moment. They are based on the Korean International Financial Reporting Standards (K-IFRS). As a result, detailed performance across individual business divisions is not yet available. Samsung should announce its complete financial results later this month, giving us a clearer picture of its overall performance.

Analysts expect Samsung’s memory business to deliver record-breaking operating profit in Q1 2026. The company has continued to increase prices for key products such as DRAM and NAND flash. This is mainly because of the huge demand from global clients to power their AI infrastructure. More importantly, the Korean firm has begun shipping its 6th-generation high-bandwidth memory, HBM4, to key customers.

Apart from semiconductors, Samsung’s mobile division is also said to play a key role in this growth. The company’s latest Galaxy S26 series saw strong demand during the pre-order period in several global markets. This likely contributed to higher smartphone shipments, supporting revenue growth in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, Samsung has reportedly increased DRAM prices by around 30% for the second quarter of 2026. This could further boost the company’s profitability in the coming quarters. Stay tuned for Q1 financial results.