Samsung Electronics forecasts a 15-fold profit increase for Q2 2024, driven by a surge in AI-related demand for advanced chips. As the world’s leading memory chip, smartphone, and television maker, Samsung’s shares rose over 2% in early Seoul trading following the announcement.
For the current quarter, Samsung expects profits to soar to 10.4 trillion won ($7.54 billion), significantly surpassing last year’s 670 billion won and analysts’ predictions of 8.8 trillion won, as per LSEG SmartEstimate. This follows a tenfold profit increase reported for Q1 2024.
“AI chip demand in data centers and smartphones is skyrocketing,” noted Marc Einstein, chief analyst at ITR Corporation. The AI boom, which has driven market rallies and led to record highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, is a key factor. Nvidia’s market value recently exceeded $3 trillion, highlighting the sector’s growth.
Einstein emphasized that the AI-driven earnings boost for Nvidia is similarly benefiting Samsung and the broader chip industry.
However, Samsung Electronics faces a potential three-day strike next week, as a workers’ union calls for a more transparent bonus and time-off system.
