Samsung sees shortage of AI chips worsen and shares fall after earnings
Profit from chips rose 15 times, but investors reacted to the lack of a new return plan and the outlook considered below that of SK Hynix.
BY THE X-TRADER NEWS NEWSROOM · REPORTING FROM INFOMONEY · 2 MIN
According to InfoMoney, Samsung Electronics' quarterly profit from chips rose 15 times, driven by the boom in artificial intelligence. The balance sheet was released on Thursday, October 29th, and, even with such impressive numbers, the company's shares fell after the release.
The reaction draws attention precisely because of the size of the advance. According to the same source, the drop had two main reasons: Samsung did not announce a new shareholder return plan, and its outlook was considered below that presented by SK Hynix.
Comparison with the South Korean rival helps to understand the scenario. SK Hynix released better-than-expected results on Wednesday, October 28, with an optimistic outlook. Also according to InfoMoney, the company detailed a plan to return around US$75 billion to shareholders in 2026.
At the center of the discussion is HBM memory, a high-capacity chip used in artificial intelligence data centers. According to InfoMoney, Samsung's HBM stock for next year is already exhausted, and the company's main customers are asking for more units. In practice, demand exceeds available supply.
What separates the two companies is their vision of the timing of this shortage. Samsung is more conservative than SK Hynix about how long the HBM supply shortage will last. This divergence gives weight to the headline that Samsung predicts a worsening AI chip shortage.
What changes for the investor
The episode shows that the operating result alone is not enough for the investor. A drop after a balance sheet with chip profits multiplied by 15 suggests that the market is also evaluating shareholder remuneration policy and the medium-term vision of each company. If Samsung announces return plans in the next balance sheets, this reading could change. For now, the case indicates that the comparison with competitors like SK Hynix tends to weigh on those who follow the semiconductor and artificial intelligence sector.
Automatically translated from Portuguese.
