Samsung's Record Profit Still Disappoints a Market That Priced In Perfection

Samsung posted KRW 89.4 trillion ($58.44 billion) in Q2 2026 operating profit — a 19-fold yearly jump driven by AI memory demand, beating the LSEG SmartEstimate by KRW 2 trillion. Shares still fell 6.9% in Seoul after dropping 10% intraday. The stock had surged over 150% year-to-date, so expectations were too high for even a record beat to satisfy.