Samsung Electronics stock price jumped nearly 5% on Tuesday after the South Korean technology giant projected its first-quarter earnings would exceed its entire profit for last year, beating expectations.
Samsung shares rallied as much as 4.86% to a high of 202,500 won during the session, as compared to its previous close of 193,100 won, before paring some of its gains.
Samsung Electronics estimated that its first quarter operating profit jumped to a record high of 57.2 trillion won ($37.9 billion), exceeding market expectations and more than eight times the profit it posted a year earlier.
The company also said that its sales were expected to reach 133 trillion won ($88 billion) in the January-March quarter, a growth of 68% compared to the same period last year.
Samsung Electronics posted an operating profit of 6.69 trillion won last year. The sharp surge in operating profit in Q1 also exceeded market expectations by 36.7%, according to Yonhap News Agency, which cited data from its in-house research firm.
The strong performance has been driven by robust demand from major technology companies for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips — critical components used in data centres and AI accelerators to handle intensive computational workloads, AFP reported.
Rising demand for advanced chips is also pushing up the cost of conventional semiconductors used in consumer electronics, raising concerns over potential price increases for smartphones, laptops, and other devices globally.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s stock has rallied over 240% in the past year, buoyed by sustained momentum from the artificial intelligence boom.
