Samsung's Q2 profit likely to drop 39%

Samsung Electronics is expected to forecast a 39% plunge in second-quarter operating profit today, weighed down by delays in supplying advanced memory chips to artificial intelligence chip leader Nvidia.

- HEEKYONG YANG

The world’s biggest maker of memory chips is projected to report an April-June operating profit of 6.3 trillion won ($4.62 billion), its lowest income in six quarters, according to LSEG SmartEStimate.

The prolonged weakness in its financial performance has deepened investor concerns over the South Korean tech giant's ability to catch up with smaller rivals in developing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in artificial intelligence data centres.

Its key rivals, SK Hynix and Micron, have benefited from robust demand for memory chips needed for AI, but Samsung’s gains have been subdued as it relies on the China market, where sales of advanced chips have been restricted by the US.