Samsung is expected to announce a record fourth-quarter profit due to strong demand for server storage chips and rising profit margins in the chip foundry business. Fourteen analysts surveyed by Refinitiv SmartEstimate predict that as of the fourth quarter of December, the world’s largest manufacturer of memory chips and smartphones may have an operating profit of 15.2 trillion won.
The 9.05 trillion won in the same period last year increased by 68%, slightly higher than the 15.15 trillion won operating profit record set in the fourth quarter of 2017. In the past two months, Samsung’s stock price has risen by approximately 12% because investors expect that the price of storage chips will rise this year, boosted by demand for new data centers and video, games, conferences, and other streaming services.