Samsung Electronics Q2 profit likely up 38% on strong chip prices

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd likely saw a 38% surge in profit for the April-June quarter thanks to strong chip prices and demand spurred by a pandemic-led consumer appetite for electronics as well as recovering investment in data centres.

Operating profit for the world’s biggest memory chip and smartphone maker likely jumped to 11.3 trillion won ($10 billion), according to a Refinitiv SmartEstimate drawn from 20 analysts and weighted toward those who are more consistently accurate.

The South Korean tech giant’s strong performance – coming despite it shipping fewer smartphones than in January-March – underscores the stratospheric demand for chips that has depleted stockpiles and filled production capacity.