[Anchor]
Samsung Electronics has reported an operating profit of 89 trillion won for the second quarter. This is a monumental record that surpasses the all-time highs of global big tech companies such as Nvidia and Apple. The company earned in a single quarter what it had previously earned over three years, and analysts suggest that if provisions for performance bonuses are included, the figure exceeds 106 trillion won.
Reporter Min Gyeongho has the story.
[Reporter]
Samsung Electronics recorded 171 trillion won in revenue and 89.4 trillion won in operating profit for the second quarter of this year.
Both revenue and operating profit reached all-time highs for a single quarter.
Compared to the same period last year, revenue more than doubled, and operating profit surged by 1,810%, exceeding market expectations.
This figure even surpasses the combined operating profit from the three-year period between 2023 and last year.
In particular, as this operating profit figure excludes approximately 17 trillion won in provisions for performance bonuses, some evaluate the actual quarterly operating profit of Samsung Electronics to be 106 trillion won.
The company has shattered the quarterly operating profit records of Nvidia and Apple. Only Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company of Saudi Arabia, has recorded a higher figure, with 132 trillion won in the second quarter of 2022 during the war in Ukraine.
Although the performance by business division was not disclosed today (July 7), it is analyzed that the semiconductor division accounted for the vast majority of the total operating profit.
This is interpreted as the result of intensifying semiconductor supply shortages due to the continuous increase in global AI infrastructure investment, coupled with the strength in memory prices. The prevailing view in the industry is that this trend will continue at least until next year.
However, the finished product business division appears to have remained relatively sluggish as cost burdens continue to rise due to higher prices for components such as semiconductors.
Meanwhile, in the stock market, shares opened lower and plunged by over 6%.
As SK Hynix, the other half of the semiconductor duo, also fell, the KOSPI index gave up the 8,000 mark and even dipped below the 7,700 level.
(Video Editing: Kim Hojin)
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