Samsung's Q1 Operating Profit Rises 1.2% Amid Tariff Concerns

Samsung Electronics reported a slight increase in its operating profit for the first quarter of this year. The company attributed this growth to customers rushing to purchase smartphones and commodity chips due to concerns over U.S. tariffs, which offset the underperformance of its artificial intelligence chip business.

Samsung did not provide earnings guidance for the current quarter, citing increased macroeconomic uncertainty due to recent global trade tensions and a slowing global economy. The company stated that it is difficult to predict future performance under these conditions.

Ask Aime: What is the outlook for Samsung Electronics given the recent increase in operating profit?

The world's largest storage chip manufacturer achieved an operating profit of 6.7 trillion Korean won (approximately 46.8 billion USD) for the quarter ending March 31, a 1.2% increase from the same period last year, in line with previous estimates of 6.6 trillion Korean won.

Samsung's chip division reported an operating profit of 1.1 trillion Korean won, a 42% decrease year-over-year. However, the mobile devices and network business saw a 23% increase in profit, reaching 4.3 trillion Korean won.

Revenue for the January to March period grew by 10% to 79.1 trillion Korean won, meeting previous estimates of 79 trillion Korean won. This revenue growth was driven by strong demand for smartphones and commodity chips, as customers sought to mitigate the impact of potential U.S. tariffs.

Looking ahead, Samsung Electronics expects demand for AI-related chips to remain high, driven by the anticipated launch of new graphics processing units (GPUs) in the second half of the year. The company is well-positioned to capitalize on this demand, given its strong market presence and technological capabilities.