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.