Samsung Electronics has announced a preliminary operating profit of around 107,400 billion won (71.6 billion euros) for the third quarter of 2024, marking a year-on-year increase of 782.5%. If these figures are confirmed, it would be the first time a South Korean company has achieved an operating profit of more than 100,000 billion won in a single quarter. The company's revenue for the same period is expected to rise by 127% compared to the same period last year, reaching 195,000 billion won (130 billion euros), which would also be a record for Samsung. Samsung must publish its final financial results by the end of October. As one of the largest companies in South Korea, it contributes about 12.5% to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Earlier this year, Samsung reached an agreement with its trade union federation to give employees in the semiconductor division a bonus of about 509 million won (340,000 euros), tied to the significant rise in profits. This surge has been driven by growing global demand for advanced memory chips used in data centers that support artificial intelligence (AI). Samsung, along with its South Korean competitor SK Hynix and the American company Micron, dominates the global market for HBM (High Bandwidth Memory), a type of advanced memory used in cutting-edge semiconductors, especially for AI applications and data centers. HBM provides a much higher bandwidth than traditional memory chips, which is essential for training and running AI models. Mastery of this technology has become a key strategic focus for the global semiconductor industry. Analysts from the South Korean brokerage Shinhan Securities predict even stronger financial results for Samsung next year, noting that the company now appears well-prepared to increase its market share as it ramps up production of a new generation of HBM chips called HBM4. The shift to HBM4 is expected to allow Samsung to renegotiate prices, helping to maintain strong profit margins. However, the strong demand for memory chips is also driving up the prices of DRAM and NAND flash used in smartphones, which means Samsung's mobile division is paying more for the same components. Analysts say this increase in production costs is becoming harder to manage, prompting Samsung to try to limit price increases to protect its delivery volumes and market share.