Samsung Posts Record Profit, Shares Drop 6.9%

Samsung's Q2 2026 operating profit of KRW 89.4 trillion ($58.44 billion) — a 19-fold year-over-year jump fueled by AI memory demand — beat the LSEG SmartEstimate by roughly KRW 2 trillion. Yet shares closed 6.9% lower in Seoul after falling as much as 10% intraday. The stock had risen over 150% year-to-date, leaving expectations too elevated for even a record beat to satisfy.