SEOUL -Samsung Electronics said it would focus on producing high-end chips to improve profitability after reporting a 40% quarter-on-quarter plunge in chip profit, in a stark contrast with rivals TSMC and SK Hynix that posted record earnings on the AI boom.
The third-quarter result was slightly above Samsung's preliminary estimate of 9.1 trillion won flagged earlier this month, which was below market expectations at the time. Shares fell 0.2% in early trading on Thursday, with the wider South Korean market down 1.3%.) hasn't commercialised HBM as effectively as its competitors, so its third-quarter performance and fourth-quarter outlook are falling short of market expectations," said Baik Gil-hyun, analyst at Yuanta Securities.
SK Hynix had posted a record third-quarter operating profit of 7 trillion won and TSMC also had its best-ever result during that period thanks to AI chip sales to Nvidia.