Samsung’s Profit Just Rose Nearly Ninefold on Memory Chips
Samsung just posted its best quarterly profit ever, and the number is so large it changes what investors thought they knew about the memory chip cycle. Here is what it means for Micron and SanDisk before either company reports again.
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Samsung Electronics said its preliminary third-quarter operating profit reached about 107.4 trillion won, or about $80 billion. A year earlier, the figure was 12.17 trillion won, so profit grew nearly ninefold. This is operating profit, which is measured before taxes and interest. Net income is a separate, later line.
Samsung gave no breakdown by division. For US investors, the read-through runs through Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU | MU Price Prediction) and SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK), which rose 4.06% and 1.92% in the Oct 7, 2026 session, before Samsung released its numbers.
What Samsung Disclosed and What It Withheld
This is the first time Samsung’s quarterly operating profit has exceeded 100 trillion won, and it is the company’s fourth straight quarter of record profit. Profit rose 20% from 89.49 trillion won in the second quarter and beat the consensus estimate of 106.1 trillion won.
Revenue reached about 195 trillion won, up from 86.06 trillion won a year earlier, but fell short of one forecast of 200 trillion won. Samsung shares gained only about 0.3% in early Seoul trading.
Why Memory Chips Are So Profitable Right Now
Memory chips trade like commodities, so price moves profit far more than volume. When supply is tight, almost every extra dollar of contract price flows to operating profit. That is how profit can rise nearly ninefold while revenue grows far more slowly.
High-bandwidth memory (HBM) adds even fatter margins. HBM is stacked DRAM packaged right next to AI accelerators. On September 30, 2026, Micron said it does “not have line of sight to when supply and demand will return to balance.”
Analysts estimate Samsung’s chip division earned more than the company as a whole, meaning phones, televisions and appliances lost money. Samsung has not disclosed that split. If true, memory profits now cover losses in consumer electronics.
How Micron and SanDisk Ride the Same Pricing
Micron closed at $1,088.00 after receiving a Street-high price target. In its fiscal fourth quarter, it reported revenue of $54.23 billion and GAAP net income of $37.70 billion. More than 75% of its calendar 2027 output is already committed to customers.
SanDisk makes only NAND flash, the memory used for storage, and it closed at $1,692.42. On August 5, 2026, its management said it expects supply to stay constrained among customers beyond calendar 2027.
Samsung’s guidance matters because it confirms the same trend from outside. Three companies selling to different customers are all reporting the same price strength, which makes a story about one company unlikely.
What Could End the Memory Boom
Memory has long been the most cyclical part of the chip industry, because high prices draw in new factory capacity and that new capacity ends the cycle. Fourth-quarter contract prices are forecast to rise 10% to 15% for conventional DRAM and 15% to 20% for NAND. Those ranges are the timeline to keep an eye on.
Micron also faces a closer risk. A union at its Taiwan chipmaking operations has received approval to strike.
The case for Micron’s earnings strength looks solid. A major competitor has now confirmed the pricing, Micron’s record results are already reported, and it guided fiscal first-quarter revenue to $61.5 billion, plus or minus $1.5 billion.
The bear case carries weight because the stock is up 281.44% year to date, memory cycles have hurt investors before, and the Street-high target reflects the view of just one firm.
Micron has wider memory exposure than SanDisk. It sells DRAM, HBM and NAND, much like Samsung. SanDisk has fallen 2.73% over the past month despite the same pricing boost.
Two dates will test this view. SK hynix reports around Oct 27, 2026, and Samsung releases full results with division details around Oct 29, 2026. If either report shows memory margins shrinking from the second quarter, the cycle is likely peaking.
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Omor Ibne Ehsan is a writer at 24/7 Wall St. He is a self-taught investor with a focus on growth, cyclical, and dividend equities that have strong fundamentals, value, and long-term potential. He also has an interest in high-risk, high-reward investments such as penny stocks.
