Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics · Semiconductors/Memory
01Wall Street Consensus
02Earnings Results
Key Takeaways
- Q1 revenue ₩133T (+68% YoY, +42% QoQ) — all-time quarterly revenue record
- Operating profit ₩57.2T (+755% YoY, +185% QoQ) — largest quarterly operating profit in Korean corporate history
- Single-quarter OP exceeded full-year 2025 operating profit of ₩43.6T
- Beat market consensus of ₩40-50T OP by ~30% — massive earnings surprise
- AI datacenter demand surge → HBM sales expansion + memory price upcycle as primary drivers
Key Checkpoints
- 01HBM4 mass production ramp — supply timeline to NVIDIA and AMD for next-gen AI accelerators
- 02Foundry division recovery — 3nm GAA yield improvement and customer win-back from TSMC
- 03TurboQuant technology impact — AI-optimized quantization boosting inference efficiency for on-device AI
- 04Apple DRAM supply share — expansion amid memory price upcycle (DRAM ASP +15-20% QoQ)
- 05Mobile division Galaxy S26 pre-order momentum and AI feature differentiation
- 06Memory operating margin recovery — target 30%+ vs Q4 2025 mid-20s
Upside Catalysts
- HBM4 qualification by NVIDIA expected Q2 2026 — would validate Samsung's comeback in premium memory
- TurboQuant adoption by major cloud hyperscalers — potential licensing revenue stream
- Apple DRAM order increase for iPhone 18 cycle — Samsung regaining share from Micron
- Memory super-cycle: AI server DRAM content per unit increasing 4-8x driving unprecedented demand
- Foundry 2nm roadmap acceleration — critical for long-term competitiveness
Risk Factors
- Foundry yield gap vs TSMC: 3nm GAA still lagging — risk of losing Qualcomm and other key clients permanently
- Iran conflict: KOSPI crashed -4.37% on 4/2 to 4,981 — risk-off sentiment pressuring Korean tech valuations
- USD/KRW at 1,508: while boosting export revenue translation, signals capital flight from Korean assets
- China competition: CXMT and other domestic memory makers advancing — long-term pricing power erosion risk
- HBM4 execution risk: any delay vs SK Hynix could cede market leadership in the highest-margin memory segment
1Earnings Summary
Samsung Electronics reported consolidated preliminary Q1 2026 results of revenue ~₩133T and operating profit ~₩57.2T. This represents explosive growth of +68% revenue and +755% operating profit versus Q1 2025 (revenue ₩79.14T, OP ₩6.7T).
Compared to the prior quarter (Q4 2025: revenue ₩93.8T, OP ₩20.1T), revenue grew +42% and operating profit surged +185%.
2Earnings Surprise Analysis
Market consensus for Q1 operating profit ranged from ₩40T to low ₩50T, but the actual figure of ₩57.2T exceeded expectations by approximately 30%.
Key Drivers:
- AI datacenter investment surge → explosive server DRAM and HBM demand
- HBM4 mass production ramp → higher-margin product mix
- Memory price upcycle → DRAM/NAND ASP rising simultaneously
- USD/KRW at 1,508 → strong translation effect for 80%+ export revenue company
3Quarterly Comparison
| Quarter | Revenue | Operating Profit | YoY Revenue | YoY OP | |---------|---------|-----------------|-------------|--------| | Q1 2025 | ₩79.14T | ₩6.7T | - | - | | Q4 2025 | ₩93.8T | ₩20.1T | - | - | | Q1 2026 | ₩133T | ₩57.2T | +68% | +755% |
SEPS 서프라이즈 히스토리
분기별 EPS 컨센서스 대비 서프라이즈(%) — 막대: EPS, 점선: 매출
컨센서스 대비 실제 EPS/매출 서프라이즈 (%)