SEOUL, South Korea — Samsung Electronics is on track for the most profitable quarter in its history, powered by soaring demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence. Yet its shares have struggled in recent weeks, leaving investors asking whether the pullback is a buying opportunity or a warning sign.

The answer depends heavily on an investor's view of how long the AI-driven memory boom can last. Here is what the latest numbers and analysts are saying.

On Oct. 8, Samsung released preliminary third-quarter results showing operating profit of about 107.4 trillion won ($80.2 billion), up roughly 782% from a year earlier and the first time the company's quarterly operating profit has topped 100 trillion won.

Revenue was estimated at about 195 trillion won, up nearly 127% from the same period last year. Third-quarter operating profit alone exceeded Samsung's entire operating profit for 2025.

The surge is being driven by Samsung's semiconductor business. Demand from AI data centers has created a shortage of memory chips, including conventional DRAM, NAND flash storage and high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, a specialized type of memory used alongside AI processors from companies such as Nvidia.

Samsung's HBM shipments reportedly jumped nearly 50% from the previous quarter, helped by demand for its latest-generation HBM4 chips.

Why the stock hasn't followed

Despite the record results,........

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