Samsung Electronics has released its financial report for the first quarter of the current year, revealing a mixed bag of results. TM Roh, head of the mobile division (MX), expressed concerns that this division may face its first-ever annual loss. Nevertheless, the Galaxy smartphone lineup remained profitable during Q1.
The MX and Network Businesses division reported consolidated revenues of KRW 38.1 trillion and an operating profit of KRW 2.8 trillion for the first quarter. These figures reflect an increase from KRW 37 trillion in revenue and KRW 4.3 trillion in profit during Q1 2025. Despite a challenging market environment, Samsung achieved single-digit profitability through a strategic product mix favoring premium models and proactive cost optimizations.
Looking ahead to the next three months, Samsung anticipates a decline in revenue. The MX division will focus on increasing flagship sales and strengthening its position in the foldables market, hinting at potential new releases.
Despite TM Roh's apprehensions, the financial forecast suggests that the MX division is expected to generate higher revenues in 2026 compared to the previous year, although yearly profit predictions remain unissued.
In a noteworthy contrast, the Device Solutions (DS) segment celebrated a record-breaking quarter with revenues hitting KRW 81.7 trillion—an astounding 86% increase from the previous quarter. Operating profit rose to KRW 53.7 trillion, a significant leap from KRW 1.1 trillion reported last year.
The memory division, part of DS, achieved its highest quarterly sales to date, largely due to strong demand in the AI sector, including the introduction of HBM4 and SOCAMM2 memory for Nvidia’s Vera Rubin architecture, expected to launch later this year.
In the upcoming quarter, the memory division will begin shipping HBM4E memory samples to clients and aims to capture the emerging PCIe Gen6 SSD market with a focus on AI infrastructure, specifically for high-bandwidth SSD applications.
The ongoing memory shortage is impacting the broader electronics market and pressuring other divisions. Samsung Display Corporation (SDC) reported KRW 6.7 trillion in consolidated revenue, generating an operating profit of KRW 0.4 trillion. Reduced demand for small and medium display products has affected SDC, which attributes this to seasonal trends and the influence of high memory prices on smartphone sales. However, demand for OLED gaming monitors remains strong.
Samsung System LSI, responsible for Exynos chips and ISOCELL camera sensors, reported positive results driven by robust chipset sales. For the next quarter, LSI aims to boost sales for both chipsets and sensors in the “volume-tier” smartphone segment, while also seeking to secure flagship SoC design wins.
On the downside, the Foundry business faced decreased earnings due to seasonal trends. However, development on the 1.4nm node remains on schedule, and Samsung is actively seeking new clients for its 2nm node. The Foundry aims to enhance earnings in the second quarter by increasing HBM4 die supply.
For further details on Samsung’s other business segments, including Harman, Visual Display, and Digital Appliances, refer to the official press release.
Overall, despite individual divisions experiencing fluctuations, Samsung Electronics is on solid ground with a consolidated revenue of KRW 133.9 trillion—a record high for the quarter, representing a remarkable 43% increase compared to the last quarter of 2025. Operating profit has also reached an all-time high of KRW 57.2 trillion.
For comparison, in Q1 2025, Samsung Electronics reported revenues of KRW 79.1 trillion and an operating profit of KRW 6.7 trillion.
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