Samsung Electronics in Suwon Shatters History with First-Ever 'Quarterly Operating Profit of 100 Trillion Won'…Rewriting Global Corporate History

Samsung Electronics, headquartered in Suwon, has become the first publicly listed company in global history to cross the '100 trillion won quarterly operating profit' milestone. Samsung Electronics announced on the 8th through its third-quarter provisional earnings disclosure that it recorded revenues of 195 trillion won and operating profit of 107.4 trillion won.

Operating profit increased 20.0% compared to the second quarter (89.5 trillion won) and exceeded the securities industry consensus (104.9 trillion won) by 2.5 trillion won. When this quarter is added to the first-half cumulative operating profit of 146.7 trillion won, surpassing 350 trillion won in annual operating profit is virtually assured, and 400 trillion won is also within reach.

The significance of this figure becomes clear when viewed against the entire global corporate history. Saudi Aramco in the second quarter of 2022, during a period of soaring oil prices, was the only listed company to exceed quarterly operating profit of 100 trillion won. This is the first time a manufacturing and technology company that produces and sells products—rather than a state-owned enterprise pumping oil—has crossed this threshold. This far exceeds the recent quarterly operating profit of NVIDIA (approximately 85.3 trillion won converted), a flagship company of the artificial intelligence era, making it equivalent to first place globally in terms of quarterly profits.

The semiconductor (DS) division drove the performance. The average price of PC DRAM reached 26 dollars last month, rewriting the all-time high, and NAND prices have risen for 21 consecutive months. HBM4 (high-bandwidth memory), which was first launched by the industry earlier this year, is rapidly increasing its share of revenues. Market research firm TrendForce forecasts that DRAM prices will rise a further 10-15% in the fourth quarter, suggesting that the upward cycle will continue for some time.

However, there are shadows on the horizon. The non-memory divisions, including foundry and system LSI, are estimated to have continued losses due to operating costs at the U.S. Taylor plant, and the Set (DX) division, including smartphones, is absorbing the effects of chip price increases. The sharp 11.9% decline in the won-dollar exchange rate in the third quarter (1,358 won at the end of September) also posed a burden on export companies' profitability.

This record is also a record for Suwon. Suwon, where Samsung Electronics' headquarters and research complex are located, is a city where local tax revenues such as corporate local income tax, employment, and surrounding commercial activity are directly tied to Samsung's performance. The record-breaking profits are expected to bring warmth to Suwon's municipal treasury and regional economy next year.