Samsung Shares Fall 6% Despite Strong Earnings as AI Demand Lifts Foundry Business Into Profit

Samsung Electronics is a major global producer of HBM and DRAM chips and a leading contract chipmaker. It has invested in advanced processes in recent years to catch up with TSMC, but its foundry division has long been unprofitable. Expansion of AI data centers has fueled HBM demand and memory prices. A simultaneous turnaround in foundry earnings would indicate that the AI boom is also strengthening its semiconductor manufacturing business, with implications for global chip supplies and South Korean equities.

On July 7, Samsung issued preliminary second-quarter results showing revenue of 171 trillion won and operating profit of 89.4 trillion won, or about $58.5 billion. Operating profit surged 1,810.3% from a year earlier, beating the market estimate of 84.6 trillion won and Nvidia’s roughly $53.5 billion in the previous quarter. The foundry business turned profitable for the first time. However, Samsung shares closed down 6.92% at 296,000 won, while the KOSPI fell 4.9%.