Samsung flags 19-fold jump in profit, but shares slump on jitters AI boom may stall

Samsung Electronics estimated its April-June operating profit at 89.4 trillion won, about 19 times the year-ago level of 4.7 trillion won, beating analyst estimates of 87.3 trillion won, with revenue up 129 percent to 171 trillion won. Despite the earnings beat, shares dropped as much as 7.9 percent on concerns that lofty expectations were already priced in and worries that the AI infrastructure boom may stall. DRAM and NAND prices surged 44 percent and 53 percent quarter-on-quarter respectively, but broader market anxiety around US hyperscaler AI capex sustainability weighed on global tech sentiment.