Samsung 3Q Profit Hits 3-Year High on Memory, Foundry; Tesla AI5 Reportedly Set for 2nm at Taylor
2025-10-30
Riding the wave of the memory supercycle, Samsung joined SK hynix in posting stellar third-quarter results. Following SK hynix’s record-breaking profit, Samsung reported a 32% year-on-year surge in operating profit in the third quarter — its strongest performance in over three years, according to Reuters.
CNBC reports that Samsung’s operating profit more than doubled from the previous quarter, fueled by a rebound in its chip business. The surge could be attributed to higher product prices and the absence of one-off inventory costs that weighed on the previous quarter’s results, ZDNet adds.
The company posted third-quarter revenue of 86.1 trillion won, slightly above the LSEG SmartEstimate of 85.93 trillion won, and operating profit of 12.2 trillion won, beating expectations of 11.25 trillion won, CNBC suggests. Overall, revenue climbed 8.9% year-on-year, while operating profit surged 32.9%.
Memory Sales Reach All-time High
Among Samsung’s business units, the semiconductor division stood out, with Reuters noting that it delivered an operating profit of 7 trillion won ($4.92 billion) in the third quarter — an 80% surge from a year earlier.
Notably, according to Samsung, the Device Solutions (DS) Division recorded a 19% QoQ rise in sales, with the Memory Business achieving an all-time quarterly high, driven by strong momentum in HBM3e and server SSDs. ZDNet adds that Samsung’s HBM3e has now entered full-scale mass production for all major customers, while HBM4 samples have been shipped to every client that requested them.
2nm at Full Swing
On the other hand, Samsung’s foundry business is also rebounding, with the company reporting record-high customer orders in the third quarter, driven primarily by advanced node demand. According to Samsung, its first-generation 2nm GAA process has already entered mass production.
Alongside its Exynos 2600, set to power the upcoming Galaxy S26, The Bell reports that Samsung is gearing up to mass-produce Tesla’s AI5 and AI6 chips at its Taylor fab in Texas. Notably, in addition to AI6, the report suggests that AI5 will likely be built on Samsung’s cutting-edge 2nm process as well.
Looking ahead to next year, the company aims to increase sales of high-value products, with full-scale commercialization of new processes, particularly in its semiconductor business, expected to drive further momentum.
For memory, Samsung plans to ramp up production of 1c (6th-generation 10nm) DRAM to meet rising demand for HBM4. In foundry, the new Taylor fab in the U.S. will take the lead in mass-producing the cutting-edge 2nm process.
