TechFlow News, July 7, Samsung Electronics announced preliminary second-quarter results early today, with operating profit surging 19 times year-on-year, surpassing the total profits of the past three years. Specifically, Samsung previewed Q2 operating profit at 89.4 trillion won (YoY +1810.2%), while market expectation was 87.3 trillion won. However, the company's stock price plummeted significantly, as the results failed to alleviate market concerns about the sustainability of the AI-driven chip boom.
Samsung's stock price once plummeted over 8% in early trading, competitor SK Hynix's stock price also fell 7.3%, dragging down the South Korean KOSPI index by 6%. Analysts attributed Samsung's weak stock price to overly high market expectations — after accounting for employee bonus provisions, profits driven by record memory chip prices could have exceeded 90 trillion won; additionally, the market is also concerned that the construction of AI data centers may slow down.
Petra Capital Management Managing Partner Albert Yong stated: "Samsung's strong performance was already widely expected by the market and largely priced in during the stock price rise before the earnings announcement. Investors remain concerned about the sustainability of the AI boom, and the risk that AI infrastructure spending by major US tech companies may slow down." (Jin10)
