Samsung Electronics Q2 2025 Profit Falls 39% Amid AI Chip Certification Delays and Export Challenges

Samsung Electronics is facing one of its toughest quarters in recent memory. The company’s operating profit for the second quarter of 2025 is expected to fall by 39%, landing at around 6.3 trillion won, or about $4.62 billion. This marks the lowest profit Samsung has seen in a year and a half, and it’s the fourth quarter in a row where profits have slipped.

A big reason for this drop is a delay in getting Samsung’s latest AI-focused memory chips approved by Nvidia. These HBM3E 12-high chips are crucial for powering modern AI data centers, but without Nvidia’s certification, Samsung can’t ship them to customers who need them most. Meanwhile, competitors like SK Hynix and Micron have already secured major deals and are shipping their own AI chips, leaving Samsung on the sidelines.

Another challenge comes from U.S. export restrictions, which have made it harder for Samsung to sell advanced chips to China. Even as global demand for AI chips is booming, these regulatory hurdles have kept Samsung’s AI chip sales flat.

Investors are starting to worry about whether Samsung can catch up. The company has reorganized its teams and is investing more in research and development, hoping to speed up innovation and get its chips into the hands of customers. But until Samsung overcomes the certification delays and navigates the export rules, it’s stuck watching its rivals pull ahead.

There’s hope that new product launches and a stronger second half of the year could turn things around. For now, though, Samsung, once the clear leader in memory chips, is working hard just to stay in the race.