KB Securities, the brokerage arm of South Korea's largest financial group KB Financial Group, released a report yesterday (April 8) projecting that Samsung's operating profit will reach 327 trillion won in 2026 and 488 trillion won in 2027. This forecast suggests its profitability is on track to exceed that of NVIDIA. Samsung demonstrated robust performance in the first quarter of 2026, with an estimated operating profit of 57.2 trillion won (approximately 263.406 billion Chinese Yuan at current exchange rates). This represents a staggering 700% increase year-over-year and a 184% increase quarter-over-quarter.
Beyond the positive momentum in its memory chip business, a significant factor behind this strong performance is Samsung's exclusive contract to supply screens for Apple's first foldable phone. The company secured a three-year exclusive supply agreement for foldable displays with Apple. Reports indicate that Apple's inaugural foldable device, potentially named iPhone Fold or iPhone Ultra, will feature an extremely complex screen design. To minimize friction between the screen and hinge and distribute folding stress, the screen layer will be sandwiched between two layers of UTG/UFG (Ultra-Thin Glass / Ultra-Thin Flexible Glass). This technology is expected to virtually eliminate the screen crease, controlling its depth to just 0.15mm. As LG Display reportedly lacks production experience with such complex screens, Samsung was chosen as the sole supplier.
Consequently, KB Securities estimates that, bolstered by the memory super-cycle and the stable revenue stream from the three-year exclusive agreement with Apple, Samsung's operating profit will reach 488 trillion won in 2027. This would surpass the projected profitability of NVIDIA, which is estimated at 485 trillion won.
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