Samsung’s fourth-quarter profit triples, beating estimates as AI chip demand fuels memory shortage

In this article

Samsung Electronics reported an over threefold surge in fourth-quarter profits on Thursday, hitting a new record and beating analysts’ estimates, as a memory chip shortage and strong demand for artificial intelligence servers lifted earnings.

Here are Samsung’s fourth-quarter results compared with LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate:

The South Korean technology giant’s quarterly revenue rose about 24% from a year earlier to hit a new record. Meanwhile, its operating profit climbed over 200% year over year.

The profits surpassed Samsung’s long-standing record of 17.6 trillion won set in the third quarter of 2018, while matching Samsung’s own guidance of around 20 trillion won.