Samsung Electronics posted its strongest-ever first-quarter results in 2026, driven overwhelmingly by semiconductors, while performance diverged sharply across business units.
The company said Tuesday that, on a consolidated basis, it recorded revenue of 133.9 trillion won and operating profit of 57.2 trillion won. Revenue rose 43% from the previous quarter and operating profit jumped 185%, setting a record for quarterly results.
The Device Solutions (DS) semiconductor division led the surge, posting revenue of 81.7 trillion won and operating profit of 53.7 trillion won, accounting for most of the company’s earnings. Samsung said demand for high-value memory used in AI expanded alongside rising prices. It cited efforts to strengthen technology leadership, including mass production of HBM4 and next-generation low-power memory modules, and development of PCIe Gen6 SSDs.
Within semiconductors, System LSI improved somewhat on higher flagship chip sales, but foundry results declined due to seasonal weakness. Samsung said it maintained longer-term footing through orders centered on high-performance computing and securing a base in silicon photonics.
The Device eXperience (DX) set-business division saw higher sales but limited profit improvement. DX posted revenue of 52.7 trillion won and operating profit of 3.0 trillion won. The Mobile eXperience (MX) business grew on stronger flagship sales, including the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but profit gains were constrained by higher costs and tariff burdens.
The network business weakened as telecom operators cut investment. Home appliances also saw limited improvement despite new product launches, as costs weighed on results. TV (VD) profitability improved somewhat on premium products, but not enough to drive overall performance.
Other businesses were mixed. Harman posted revenue of 3.8 trillion won and operating profit of 200 billion won, with results falling amid memory supply constraints and an off-season in the audio market. The display business recorded revenue of 6.7 trillion won and operating profit of 400 billion won; small and mid-sized panels were weak on softer demand, while large OLED remained relatively steady.
A weaker won boosted earnings. Samsung said dollar strength produced an estimated 1.8 trillion won improvement in profit.
Samsung expects semiconductor-led improvement to continue in the second quarter. “As AI infrastructure investment expands, the upward trend in memory prices is expected to continue,” the company said, adding it expects profitability to improve. It said the set business is likely to remain volatile as the impact of new model launches fades and cost pressures persist.
For the second half, Samsung forecast a “conflicting environment,” with tariffs, geopolitical risks and rising costs persisting even as semiconductor demand increases and IT demand slows.
Samsung said it will focus on higher value-added products and tighter cost efficiency to protect profitability.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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