Samsung just printed $58.4B in profit, dropped 6%, and crypto Twitter is suddenly very quiet ₿

Samsung Electronics guided to a 19-fold surge in second-quarter operating profit, estimating 89.4 trillion won ($58.4 billion) on July 7 and beating both the 87.3 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate and the 84.4 trillion won FnGuide consensus cited by Reuters. It marks the company's third consecutive record quarter, with management projecting revenue of 171 trillion won, up 129% year over year. That revenue line, however, came in below the 173.3 trillion won analyst forecast reported by Korea JoongAng Daily.

Citi Research data showed DRAM prices climbing 44% quarter over quarter and NAND flash up 53% over the same period, a move analysts tied to AI-related demand spilling from high-bandwidth memory into standard chips for phones, PCs and servers. Tight HBM capacity is squeezing supply of conventional memory, and customers are now signing longer-term contracts, a shift analysts say could keep pricing elevated well into next year. Despite those figures, shares of Samsung Electronics fell more than 6% in early trading, extending a pullback from a fivefold rally over the past 12 months.

One factor weighing on the print: a May wage agreement that ties semiconductor worker bonuses to operating profit, for which Samsung set aside funds this quarter. Analysts estimate operating profit would have cleared 100 trillion won without those provisions. Investors are also watching for widening losses at Samsung's foundry and logic chip units as bonus costs spread across the division, and the full divisional breakdown is due July 30.

The decline tracks a broader rotation across chip stocks, where memory glut concerns have pressured some names even as AI-linked names such as Micron rallied on the same thesis. That split has fed renewed warnings about an AI-driven bubble and how far the current cycle can run; a slowdown in AI data-center spending remains the most cited downside risk to the outlook. Samsung has pledged 2,100 trillion won in domestic investment through 2040, though the company said it will adjust spending to market conditions.