According to Reuters on July 5, Samsung Electronics estimates that operating profit in the second quarter of 2024 will increase more than 15 times, reaching 10.4 trillion won (7.54 billion USD), far exceeding analysts' estimates of 8,000 billion won. 8 trillion won.

The above positive business results are driven by the strong recovery in demand for semiconductor chips, especially high-end chip lines serving AI. Along with that, memory chip prices also increased compared to the end of 2022 - early 2023, helping Samsung's profits to be the highest since the third quarter of 2022. Samsung's second quarter revenue is estimated at 74 trillion won, up 23% over the same period last year.

Analysts say that Samsung's positive profits also come from the reversal of previous inventory provisions, because the value of memory chips has recovered. The memory chip business, which is Samsung's golden egg, is likely to record its second consecutive profitable quarter.

Booming demand for high-end DRAM chips, such as HBM used in AI chipsets, along with chips used in data center servers and devices running AI services, has helped push up chip prices. Also according to sources quoted from TrendForce in the second quarter, "memory chip prices increased from 13% to 20% compared to the previous quarter".

However, the rise in memory chip prices may slow down in the third quarter, with an expected increase of 5% to 10%. The reason is that demand for older chips from the consumer electronics market is still weak.

According to Ko Yeongmin, analyst at Daol Investment & Securities, "the outlook for the used chip market will be a signal of whether the chip industry's recovery can last until next year."

However, demand for high-end chips serving AI, such as HBM and SSD drives, is expected to continue to grow strongly. The source added that Samsung is currently lagging behind rival SK Hynix in providing HBM chips to large customers like Nvidia.

Investors are also currently waiting for information on whether Samsung's latest fourth-generation HBM chip will be approved for supply by Nvidia, after previous tests had problems with temperature and consumption. Electrical Power.

In an effort to overcome the chip crisis, Samsung replaced the director of its semiconductor chip business in May. Samsung shares have increased 8% year to date, lower than SK Hynix's 63% increase. .