Micron, the world's third-largest memory chipmaker, reported quarterly results at the level of an earnings surprise, focusing market attention on the second-quarter operating profits of Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS) due next month. With growing support for the view that the semiconductor industry has entered a "megacycle" beyond a "super cycle," some forecasts now project that the second-quarter operating profits of industry leader Samsung Electronics and No. 2 SK hynix will approach 100 trillion won and 70 trillion won, respectively.
An official in the semiconductor industry assessed Micron's results Wednesday, saying they "proved that the memory market has entered a structural boom phase beyond a simple economic recovery."
The industry is paying attention to the operating margin exceeding 80% among the results Micron reported for the third quarter (March-May) of fiscal 2026. Micron's second-quarter operating margin stood at 67.6%, but in the third quarter it posted revenue of $41.456 billion and operating profit of $33.318 billion, with the operating margin surging 12.8 percentage points to 80.4%.
The surge in Micron's operating margin shows that memory makers' pricing power in supply negotiations for high-value chips—such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM), low-power double data rate (LPDDR), and server solid-state drives (SSDs)—has become far stronger than during past super cycles.
With No. 3 Micron presenting record results, expectations are also rising for the second-quarter results that No. 1 Samsung Electronics and No. 2 SK hynix will announce next month.
According to FnGuide, Samsung Electronics' second-quarter revenue and operating profit estimates on a three-month basis stand at 169.6547 trillion won and 85.8777 trillion won, respectively. However, the revenue estimate updated on a one-month basis rose to 173.8758 trillion won, and the operating profit estimate to 87.4138 trillion won. The highest estimates reach 181.471 trillion won in revenue and 99.63 trillion won in operating profit.
For SK hynix as well, the three-month revenue and operating profit estimates stand at 82.5251 trillion won and 63.0998 trillion won, respectively, but over the past month they rose to 84.7288 trillion won and 64.7719 trillion won. The highest estimates are 90.453 trillion won in revenue and 71.446 trillion won in operating profit.
Some point to the possibility that the earnings estimates for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix may rise further following Micron's results announcement. In the first quarter, Samsung Electronics recorded an operating margin of about 74% when limited to its memory division, while SK hynix posted 71.5%. The second-quarter estimate for SK hynix's operating margin also stands at around 76%.
For this reason, the explanation is that earnings forecasts could rise further if Micron's operating margin exceeding 80% is applied. "Micron's results showed how strongly AI infrastructure investment is being reflected in memory makers' income statements," an official in the semiconductor industry said. "The second-quarter results of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix could significantly exceed market estimates."
