Samsung Electronics (005930) set an unprecedented record by surpassing its entire previous year's operating profit in just three months during the first quarter of this year. Riding the wave of global artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investment, the company knocked out Alphabet, Google's parent company, to enter the top 5 in global big tech operating profit rankings. This earnings surprise that easily exceeded market forecasts is largely attributed to the memory semiconductor supercycle.
'Ultra-Gap' Performance 40% Above Market Forecasts
Samsung Electronics announced on the 7th that its preliminary consolidated results for the first quarter recorded revenue of 133.2 trillion won and operating profit of 57.2 trillion won. This significantly exceeds the average forecast (40.2 trillion won) released by securities firms just a week ago by approximately 42.3%. Compared to the same period last year, revenue increased by 68.1% and operating profit surged by 755%.
The company-wide operating profit margin (43%), a profitability indicator, also doubled compared to the previous quarter. Notably, surpassing the entire operating profit Samsung Electronics earned throughout last year (43.6011 trillion won) in just the first quarter is evaluated as the best performance in company history and a record that will go down in Korean corporate history.
