October 8, 2026 / SemiMedia / — Samsung Electronics estimated third-quarter operating profit at a record KRW107.4 trillion, or about $80.2 billion, up approximately 783% from a year earlier as strong AI demand continued to drive memory sales. Revenue for the July-to-September quarter is expected to reach KRW195 trillion, up about 127% year over year.

The result marks Samsung's fourth consecutive quarter of record operating profit. Strong demand for HBM, server DRAM and NAND has kept memory supply tight, with major suppliers including Samsung, SK hynix and Micron expecting constrained market conditions to continue into 2027 and potentially 2028.

The pace of memory price increases is beginning to moderate. TrendForce expects conventional DRAM contract prices to rise 10% to 15% quarter over quarter in the fourth quarter, significantly slower than the roughly 60% increase recorded in the second quarter. Rising component costs are also putting increasing pressure on smartphones, PCs and other consumer electronics.

Despite slower price increases, demand for high-end AI memory remains strong. Samsung's HBM bit shipments are estimated to have increased by nearly 50% sequentially in the third quarter as the company expands HBM4 production and seeks to gain share in the high-bandwidth memory market.

AMD CEO Lisa Su reinforced that demand outlook during a visit to South Korea this week. Su said AMD continues to explore additional cooperation with Samsung Electronics in both memory and foundry services and described Samsung and SK hynix as critical partners for AMD's broader data center ambitions.

AMD and Samsung signed a memorandum of understanding in March to expand their strategic partnership in memory products for AI infrastructure. The companies have also been discussing potential foundry cooperation for future AMD products as the chipmaker prepares to substantially increase AI processor supply in 2027.

Samsung is scheduled to release its full third-quarter results on October 29. With memory pricing growth beginning to moderate, the market's focus is shifting toward whether sustained AI infrastructure investment can keep demand and profitability at elevated levels. AMD's push to secure additional HBM supply suggests major AI processor vendors are still planning for significant capacity growth over the next several years.