Here is the summary of Samsung Electronics’ 3Q 2025 earnings results in English:
- Overall Financial Performance
- Revenue: Reached a record high of KRW 86.1 trillion, a 15.4% increase quarter-on-quarter.
- Operating Profit: KRW 12.2 trillion, representing a significant increase of KRW 7.5 trillion compared to the previous quarter.
- Net Profit: KRW 12.2 trillion.
- Operating Margin: Improved to 14.2%.
- Segment Performance
- DS Division (Semiconductor): Revenue of KRW 33.1 trillion and Operating Profit of KRW 7.0 trillion. Profitability improved significantly due to strong AI demand, expanded HBM3E sales, and rising memory prices.
- DX Division (Device Experience): Revenue of KRW 44.9 trillion and Operating Profit of KRW 3.5 trillion. Stable sales were driven by the S25 series, A series smartphones, and tablets.
- SDC (Display): Revenue of KRW 8.0 trillion and Operating Profit of KRW 1.4 trillion. Demand for mobile panels was fueled by flagship smartphone launches from major customers.
- Future Outlook and Strategy
- Memory: Focus remains on increasing sales of high-value-added products such as HBM3E 12H, high-capacity DDR5, and eSSDs.
- Foundry: Mass production of the 1st generation 2nm GAA process has begun, securing a record volume of new orders.
- AI Integration: Strong demand for high-performance memory in servers is expected to continue as the AI industry evolves.
- Dividend Policy
- The Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of KRW 370 per share.
Here is the Income Statement and Department Revenue analysis based on the Samsung 3Q 2025 earnings report:
Consolidated Income Statement (KRW)
| Item | Amount (Trillion) | % of Total Rev | YoY Change |
| Total Revenue | 86.1 | 100% | +27.7% |
| Cost of Sales | 51.5 | 59.8% | +11.2% |
| Gross Profit | 34.6 | 40.2% | +64.0% |
| SG&A Expenses | 22.4 | 26.0% | +16.7% |
| Operating Profit | 12.2 | 14.2% | +408.3% |
| Non-operating Items | 2.8 | 3.2% | – |
| Net Profit before Tax | 15.0 | 17.4% | +158.6% |
| Net Profit | 12.2 | 14.2% | +110.3% |
Department Revenue Analysis
| Business Segment | Revenue (Trillion) | % of Total Rev | YoY Change |
| DS (Semiconductor) | 33.1 | 38.4% | +101.8% |
| – Memory | 27.0 | 31.4% | +156.4% |
| DX (Device Experience) | 44.9 | 52.1% | +2.0% |
| – MX / Networks (Mobile) | 30.5 | 35.4% | +1.7% |
| – VD / Digital Appliances | 14.1 | 16.4% | +2.9% |
| SDC (Display) | 8.0 | 9.3% | -2.4% |
| Harman | 3.5 | 4.1% | -7.9% |
Key Takeaways
- Semiconductor Growth: The DS division saw a 101.8% YoY revenue increase, primarily fueled by strong demand for HBM3E and DDR5 in AI servers.
- Revenue Composition: The DX division remains the largest revenue contributor (52.1%), though profitability is increasingly driven by the DS division.
- Profit Surge: Operating profit grew by 408.3% YoY, reflecting the impact of rising memory average selling prices (ASP) and an optimized product mix.
Here is the summary of the Consolidated Balance Sheet for Samsung Electronics as of 3Q 2025, including the percentage of total assets and Year-on-Year (YoY) changes.
Consolidated Balance Sheet (KRW)
| Item | Amount (Trillion) | % of Total Assets | YoY Change |
| Current Assets | 229.4 | 48.0% | +1.0% |
| – Cash and Cash Equivalents | 108.4 | 22.7% | +17.6% |
| – Trade Receivables | 50.5 | 10.6% | +24.1% |
| – Inventories | 53.7 | 11.2% | -1.9% |
| Non-current Assets | 248.8 | 52.0% | +19.4% |
| – PP&E (Property, Plant & Equipment) | 205.9 | 43.1% | +21.9% |
| – Intangible & Other Assets | 42.9 | 8.9% | +8.1% |
| Total Assets | 478.2 | 100% | +9.8% |
| — | — | — | — |
| Current Liabilities | 88.1 | 18.4% | +16.5% |
| Non-current Liabilities | 33.6 | 7.0% | +25.9% |
| Total Liabilities | 121.7 | 25.4% | +19.0% |
| Total Equity | 356.5 | 74.6% | +7.0% |
Key Financial Highlights
- Investment in Growth: The 21.9% YoY increase in PP&E reflects heavy capital expenditure in semiconductor facilities, specifically for advanced nodes and HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) capacity.
- Strong Liquidity: Cash and equivalents grew significantly (+17.6% YoY), keeping the company’s liquidity position very strong with over KRW 108 trillion.
- Healthy Solvency: The debt-to-asset ratio remains very low at approximately 25.4%, indicating a conservative and stable capital structure.
- Inventory Management: Despite record sales, inventories slightly decreased (-1.9% YoY), suggesting efficient supply chain management and strong sell-through of products.
What is HBM?
HBM stands for High Bandwidth Memory. It is a premium memory solution that vertically stacks multiple DRAM chips and interconnects them using Through-Silicon Via (TSV) technology. Compared to traditional DDR memory, HBM provides significantly higher data transfer speeds (high bandwidth), occupies less space, and consumes less power.
HBM and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
HBM is one of the most critical hardware components in the current AI industry. As Large Language Models (LLMs) evolve, AI servers must process massive amounts of data, making traditional memory transfer speeds a bottleneck. The high bandwidth of HBM makes it an indispensable partner for AI accelerators (such as NVIDIA GPUs).
Samsung’s Status in the HBM Market (Per 3Q 2025 Report)
HBM is the primary growth engine for Samsung’s DS (Semiconductor) division profitability.
- Product Technology ProgressSamsung’s current flagship product is HBM3E. The report notes that the sales proportion of HBM3E (including both 8-layer and 12-layer versions) is expanding rapidly.
- Revenue ContributionDriven by sustained strong demand for AI servers, HBM3E sales grew significantly quarter-on-quarter in Q3. This is a core reason why Memory business revenue increased by 156.4% YoY.
- Future OutlookSamsung plans to further increase the production capacity of HBM3E 12H (12-layer) in 2025 and is actively developing the next-generation HBM4, with plans to provide samples to key customers in the second half of 2025.
Major Advantages of HBM
- High Bandwidth: Dramatically reduces latency during data transfer between the processor and memory.
- Space Efficiency: Vertical stacking technology reduces the physical footprint on the circuit board.
- Low Power Consumption: Offers better energy efficiency than traditional solutions under high-performance computing loads.
Based on the Samsung Electronics 3Q 2025 earnings report and semiconductor market analysis, the rise in memory prices (ASP, Average Selling Price) is driven by the following factors:
1. Explosive Growth in AI Demand
The demand for high-performance memory from AI servers is extremely strong. To support AI computations, there is a massive surge in requirements for HBM (High Bandwidth Memory), high-capacity DDR5, and server-grade SSDs (eSSDs). Because these premium products consume a large portion of production capacity, supply is heavily concentrated on high-value-added products.
2. Supply Discipline and Production Cuts
During the market downturn in previous quarters, major memory manufacturers (such as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron) implemented production cuts and reduced capital expenditures. As demand recovered, the supply increased more slowly than demand, leading to a supply-demand imbalance that pushed up contract prices.
3. Product Mix Optimization
Manufacturers like Samsung are actively shifting production lines from legacy DDR4 to higher-priced, higher-technology products like DDR5 and HBM3E. As the shipment proportion of advanced process products increases, it pulls up the overall Average Selling Price (ASP). In the 3Q 2025 report, the 101.8% YoY revenue increase in the DS division was primarily due to this price recovery and improved product mix.
4. Normalization of Inventory Levels
Customers—including cloud service providers (CSPs), PC makers, and mobile manufacturers—have returned to healthy inventory levels after a period of destocking. To ensure a stable supply for AI-related applications, customers have shown a higher willingness to accept increased prices, driving a new procurement cycle.
Impact of Rising Prices on Samsung
- Revenue Surge: Samsung’s Memory business achieved KRW 27.0 trillion in revenue in 3Q 2025, a 156.4% increase YoY.
- Profitability Improvement: Due to the operating leverage created by rising prices, the DS division’s operating profit saw a massive leap compared to both the previous quarter and the same period last year.
What is the GAA Process?
GAA stands for Gate-All-Around. It is an advanced evolution of transistor architecture. In traditional FinFET (Fin Field-Effect Transistor) structures, the gate contacts the channel on three sides. In the GAA architecture, the gate surrounds the channel on all four sides. This allows for more precise control over the flow of current, significantly reducing leakage and lowering power consumption.
Samsung MBCFET Technology
Samsung calls its proprietary version of GAA technology MBCFET (Multi-Bridge Channel FET). This technology uses nanosheets instead of nanowires, providing a wider contact area for the channel, which further enhances driving current and overall performance.
Samsung Progress in GAA (Per 3Q 2025 Report)
Samsung Electronics is actively advancing the GAA architecture in its leading-edge nodes:
- 2nm Mass ProductionThe report states that Samsung has started mass production of its 1st generation 2nm (SF2) GAA process. This highlights Samsung’s strategy to gain a performance advantage over competitors like TSMC through early architectural innovation.
- Customer Acquisition and OrdersDriven by the surge in AI chip demand, Samsung noted that its Foundry business has secured a record volume of customer orders, primarily focused on High-Performance Computing (HPC) and AI applications.
- Future EvolutionSamsung is working on its 2nd generation 2nm process to further optimize PPA (Power, Performance, and Area). The company plans to apply this GAA architecture to its future 1.4nm process nodes.
Major Advantages of the GAA Process
- Superior Current Control: Minimizes short-channel effects and effectively solves the problem of current leakage.
- Low-Voltage Operation: Achieves high performance at lower voltages, significantly reducing power consumption for AI servers and mobile devices.
- Design Flexibility: By adjusting the width of the nanosheets, designers can customize the transistor to meet specific performance or power efficiency requirements.