Samsung Electronics sees robust AI demand after Q1 profit surges eightfold to set record

Samsung Electronics said on Thursday its operating profit jumped eightfold to a record in the first quarter, underpinned by higher chip prices as an artificial intelligence boom led to a supply crunch.

Samsung expects earnings to improve further in the second quarter, saying investment in AI infrastructure would continue to expand, driving up memory chip prices.

The world's top memory chipmaker posted 57.2 trillion won ($38.43 billion) in operating profit for the January-to-March period, in line with its estimate of 57.2 trillion won and up from 6.69 trillion won a year earlier.

The South Korean company's revenue rose 69% to 133.9 trillion won in the quarter from a year earlier.

The AI data centre boom has spurred chipmakers to shift capacity to making advanced chips used in Nvidia's AI accelerators, squeezing the supply of traditional chips and driving up prices.

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Operating profit at Samsung's chip business, its main cash cow, surged to a record 53.7 trillion won in the first quarter, accounting for 94% of its total profit.

Its mobile and network division profit declined by 35% to 2.8 trillion won, squeezed by surging chip prices. Samsung Electronics shares rose 1.3% after the earnings announcement.

Shares of Samsung Electronics, Asia's second-most valuable company after Taiwan's TSMC, have surged 88% this year, outstripping the wider market's 59% gain.