Samsung Electronics has kicked off 2026 with a blockbuster set of numbers, and the latest Samsung first quarter results show just how hard the South Korean tech giant is leaning into AI-driven demand, premium devices and advanced semiconductor sales. For investors, suppliers and South Africans tracking the global electronics market, the message is clear: Samsung is not merely recovering — it is scaling aggressively across memory, smartphones, displays and automotive technology.
The company on Friday reported KRW 133.9 trillion in consolidated revenue for the quarter ended 31 March 2026, which it described as an all-time quarterly high. Operating profit also reached a record, climbing to KRW 57.2 trillion. In plain terms, Samsung has just delivered one of the strongest openings to a financial year in its history, driven by soaring chip demand and a strong product mix across its consumer businesses.
Much of the heavy lifting came from the semiconductor arm. Samsung’s Device Solutions (DS) Division posted a stunning 86% quarter-on-quarter sales increase, powered by memory products that benefited from higher average selling prices and Samsung’s continued technical edge in the market. The company said the Memory Business posted its own record quarterly revenue and profit, helped by strong demand for high-value AI-related products and tight industry supply.
That chip strength matters well beyond South Korea. As AI infrastructure expands globally, memory makers are fighting for a bigger slice of the next wave of data-centre spending. Samsung appears to be positioning itself squarely at the front of that race, with the company highlighting the start of industry-first mass sales of HBM4 and SOCAMM2 for NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin platform. It also pointed to the timely development of PCIe Gen6 SSDs, which are likely to be key as AI workloads become more storage-intensive.
For the second quarter of 2026, Samsung says its Memory Business expects demand to stay robust as AI infrastructure investment continues. The company also plans to deliver its first HBM4E samples, a move aimed at reinforcing its technology lead. Samsung is also targeting fresh demand from new GPUs and CPUs due in the second half of the year, while continuing to push an AI-focused strategy across both DRAM and NAND.
Samsung first quarter results show AI demand powering semiconductor growth
Samsung’s semiconductor division recorded KRW 81.7 trillion in revenue and KRW 53.7 trillion in operating profit in the first quarter alone. Those figures underline how central the chip business remains to the group’s overall performance, especially as global cloud players and large enterprises keep pouring money into AI systems, model training and server capacity.
Samsung said it expects server memory demand to stay strong through the second half of 2026, especially as hyperscalers respond to rising enterprise use of AI and LLM services. The company also believes agentic AI — where systems perform tasks more autonomously — will drive an additional surge in demand. That is a notable signal for the broader semiconductor sector, which is increasingly being shaped by the next generation of AI use cases.
Samsung’s strategy is not just about volume, though. It is clearly targeting the high end of the market, expanding its share of premium AI products such as DDR5 and SOCAMM2, while also preparing to lead the early PCIe Gen6 eSSD market. The company says these products will be aimed at KV cache storage demand, a niche but fast-growing area tied to AI performance.
The System LSI Business also improved in the quarter, thanks to stronger sales of system-on-chip products. In the months ahead, Samsung plans to increase shipments of SoCs and sensors for volume-tier smartphones, while the second half of the year will focus on flagship design wins and a broader push into 200MP sensors.
By contrast, the Foundry Business faced a softer quarter as seasonal factors weighed on earnings. Even so, Samsung says it continues to secure design wins in high-performance computing and has laid groundwork in silicon photonics, which could become increasingly important for high-speed data transfer in advanced computing environments.
Looking ahead, the foundry arm is targeting fuller utilisation of advanced-node production lines in the second quarter, with an earnings boost expected from higher HBM4 base-die supply. Development of the 1.4nm node remains on schedule, while Samsung is also pushing to expand its base of large-scale 2nm customers. In the second half of the year, the foundry business plans to ramp up the second-generation 2nm process for mobile devices and begin mass production of 4nm memory products and LPUs for AI and HPC clients.
There is also a broader diversification play under way. Samsung wants its foundry business to move beyond AI and HPC into automotive and aerospace, both of which could offer long-term industrial demand for advanced chips. That is the kind of move that could help the company smooth out the volatility that usually comes with the semiconductor cycle.
On the display side, Samsung Display Corporation (SDC) delivered KRW 6.7 trillion in revenue and KRW 0.4 trillion in operating profit. The small and medium display segment came under pressure from seasonal weakness and higher memory costs, but the large display unit held firm thanks to healthy demand for OLED gaming monitors.
In the second quarter, SDC plans to focus on the more resilient high-end portion of the market, even as broader demand remains uneven. The company is also expecting a lift from new product launches and global sporting events, which often support consumer electronics sales. In the second half of the year, Samsung Display is banking on premium products, 8.6G IT OLED mass production, and stronger positioning in the premium TV and monitor markets.
The mobile division, which remains one of Samsung’s most visible consumer businesses, reported a solid quarter as the MX and Networks Businesses brought in KRW 38.1 trillion in revenue and KRW 2.8 trillion in operating profit. Samsung said the MX Business benefited from a stronger premium mix and disciplined cost control, helping it maintain single-digit profitability.
That performance matters because the global smartphone market remains fiercely competitive, with consumers under pressure from inflation and softer discretionary spending in many regions. Samsung is responding by leaning into premium flagships, while also using its mid-range A-series devices to broaden its reach. In the second quarter, the company expects revenue to ease from the previous quarter as launch effects fade, but it still sees year-on-year growth.
The second half of 2026 will be about protecting that momentum. Samsung plans to deepen flagship-led growth, improve its foldable phone line-up, and keep tightening operations to offset rising cost pressure. Foldables remain a strategic category for the company, and Samsung appears determined to stay ahead of shifting consumer tastes with more refined product development.
The Networks Business had a tougher first quarter, with earnings hit by weaker telecom investment. Samsung expects improvement in the second quarter through expanded overseas sales, and in the second half it wants to capitalise on its leadership in vRAN, ORAN and AI-RAN to win new contracts while keeping a firm grip on costs. For the telecom equipment market, that suggests Samsung is still betting on software-driven network upgrades as operators look for more flexible infrastructure.
Elsewhere in the group, the Visual Display (VD) and Digital Appliances (DA) businesses posted KRW 14.3 trillion in revenue and KRW 0.2 trillion in operating profit. The TV business improved profitability thanks to strong sales of premium and large-screen TVs, plus better resource allocation. Samsung plans to use sporting-event demand and a strengthened product line-up to drive more sales in the second quarter, before leaning further into AI features and its operating system and services business later in the year.
The home appliances arm, meanwhile, saw only modest earnings improvement as it dealt with cost pressures and tariffs. Still, Samsung expects a better second quarter thanks to a refreshed premium line-up and recovering demand for air conditioners. In the second half, the company wants to push premium sales while continuing cost-efficiency measures.
Finally, Harman reported a decline in earnings in the first quarter, mainly because of higher expenses linked to memory constraints and the usual seasonal pattern in audio. Samsung expects that to improve in the second quarter as automotive supply picks up, with stronger performance expected in the second half from car audio and premium sound products.
Taken together, the Samsung first quarter results paint a picture of a company firing on multiple cylinders, but especially in memory chips and AI infrastructure. For South African readers watching global tech and semiconductor trends, Samsung’s numbers are another sign that the next phase of growth in electronics will be shaped by AI, advanced nodes, premium devices and a relentless push for technological leadership.