Samsung Electronics anticipates a staggering 931% increase in operational profits for the first quarter, driven by the semiconductor market's recovery and the surge in artificial intelligence technologies. The company announced today that its operational profits for January to March soared to 6.6 trillion Korean won ($4.89 billion), marking a 931% rise from the previous year. This performance surpasses the 0.64 trillion won earnings in the first quarter of 2023 and exceeds LSEG's forecast of 5.24 trillion won. A detailed financial report is scheduled for release on April 30.

SK Kim, Executive Director and Analyst at Daiwa Securities, predicts robust earnings for Samsung in early 2024 due to increased memory chip prices and strong sales of the S24, outperforming market estimates. "We foresee the AI-based chip rebound cycle leading to substantial gains in 2024-25," Kim stated. Daiwa Securities maintains a "buy" rating on Samsung Electronics, raising its price target to 110,000 won.

Samsung's first-quarter revenue likely rose by 11.4% year-on-year to 71 trillion won, the company reported. LSEG analysts project revenues around 71.8 trillion won. As the world's largest manufacturer of memory semiconductors found in consumer devices like smartphones and computers, Samsung benefited from the recovering chip prices, which had plummeted last year due to post-pandemic oversupply and decreased demand for smartphones and laptops. Both Samsung and SK Hynix, the second-largest DRAM chip manufacturer, anticipate the semiconductor market's upward trend to continue this year, moving past production cuts and reduced demand.