Samsung Electronics has posted record profits for Q1 2026, reporting a revenue of 133.9 trillion won ($91bn), up 43 percent Quarter-on-Quarter (QoQ) and 69 percent Year-on-Year (YoY).

The tech giant’s operating profit also set a new company record, totaling 57.2 trillion won ($39bn) for the three-month period. The figure represents QoQ and YoY increases of 185 percent and 756 percent, respectively, with Q1 profits exceeding the company’s FY25 full-year profits of 43.6 trillion won ($30bn).

The growth was primarily a result of increased sales across Samsung’s Device Solutions (DS) Division, with operating profits for the segment totaling 53.7 trillion won ($36bn) for the quarter. By comparison, for Q1 2025, that figure was around 1 trillion won ($6.8bn), growing to 16.4 trillion won ($11bn) for Q4 of that financial year.

Ongoing demand for memory hardware was the main driving force behind the record-breaking figures. In its earnings presentation, Samsung noted that while it recorded DS sales of 81.7 trillion won ($55bn) for the quarter, memory sales accounted for 74.8 trillion won ($51bn) of that total, its second consecutive earnings record.

Samsung is scheduled to deliver its first HBM4E samples in Q2, and the company said it expects to see “continued strong server DRAM and SSD demand” in the second half of 2026, driven by ongoing hardware deployments in support of generative and agentic AI workloads.

However, speaking on the company’s earnings call, Jaejune Kim, EVP of Samsung’s memory business, told analysts that available memory supply is far short of customer demand, stating: “Our demand fulfillment rate is now at a record low, and unlike previous years, customers who are concerned about supply shortages are actually bringing forward their demand for 2027.”

Samsung first warned that the memory chip shortage would likely persist into 2027 and beyond in late 2025, stating that consumer electronics are likely to suffer the most in the face of ongoing shortages, as capacity will increasingly become allocated to AI infrastructure projects.

“With available capacity under such constrained conditions, we plan to maintain our product mix focus on servers in the second quarter, and we're expecting DRAM bit growth to increase by a single-digit percentage QoQ,” Kim added.

Commenting on the wider foundry business, Samsung’s CFO, Soon-Cheol Park, said the division would continue to see earnings improvement throughout the year, although he cautioned that the second half of the year would likely bring about a “mixed business environment” with growth driven by AI demand hitting up against the rising cost of IT products and global uncertainty, such as tariffs and geopolitical challenges.

With regards to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Park said the company was continuing to monitor the situation and coordinating with the South Korean government to maintain a stable power supply.

“Our semiconductor production lines are operating normally, and there have been no supply chain issues to date,” he said. “While we source some processed gases from Israel and the Middle East, we have secured sufficient safety stock and are responding in line with local logistics conditions. We have secured alternative logistic routes and diversified suppliers, including the US and Japan, so the overall risk remains limited.”

When asked about progress with the company’s US chip manufacturing operations, Daniel Oh, head of investor relations at Samsung, said that it was continuing to ramp up support for its fab in Taylor, Texas, with investment in the facility expected to increase steadily throughout the year, starting in Q2.

The company has now moved equipment into Fab 1 at the Taylor site, and claimed it was on track to begin operations in 2026, with mass production slated for 2027. Fab 2, meanwhile, is still in the early review phase, Samsung said.

Despite the record-breaking figures and a cautiously optimistic outlook, Samsung is facing opposition from its South Korean workers who are demanding that the tech giant share a greater percentage of its AI-driven profits with its employees, resulting in more than 30,000 unionized Samsung Electronics workers attending a rally in Pyeongtaek last week.

Labor unions, including the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), are asking that workers within the company’s chip division receive a share of 15 percent of its operating profits, in addition to the removal of the 50 percent bonus cap and a seven percent pay increase.

Samsung has offered workers a 10 percent profit allocation, a 6.2 percent pay increase, and additional benefits such as preferential mortgage loans. However, the union has rejected this deal and, should an agreement fail to be reached, an 18-day strike will commence on May 21.

In the days before the rally, it was reported that Samsung asked a court to block unions planning strike action at its South Korean facilities from engaging in illegal activities during the walkout.

While the union labeled the move a “declaration of war,” Samsung said the filing was not an attempt by the company to stop the union from legally striking, but rather to prevent those involved from engaging in unlawful behavior, such as occupying production lines.