Samsung falls 4.13% on the day of its biggest quarterly profit

Samsung Electronics shares ended Oct 29, 2026, at 232,000 won, down 4.13% from 242,000 won one session earlier. The drop came on the day Samsung filed preliminary third-quarter results. They showed operating profit of 107.44 trillion won (about US$80.4 billion), the highest in at least six quarters.

The decline erased half of the won gain the stock made on Oct 28. That day it jumped 9.01%, from 222,000 won, on the eve of its earnings call. In dollar terms the loss on Oct 29 was 4.07%. One share was worth US$173.55 at 1,336.8 won per dollar.

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A 107 trillion won quarter

The figures are consolidated and preliminary. They are Samsung’s own early estimate, and fuller numbers follow weeks later (why Samsung reports twice). Revenue for July to September came to 195.25 trillion won (about US$146.1 billion). That was 13.85% more than in the second quarter and 126.88% more than a year before.

Operating profit grew faster than revenue. It rose 20.06% from the April-June quarter and 783.11% from the same period of 2025.

The year-earlier comparison shows the scale of the change. In the third quarter of 2025, Samsung earned operating profit of 12.17 trillion won on revenue of 86.06 trillion won. In the second quarter of 2026, profit was 89.49 trillion won. No quarter since at least April 2025 has produced a larger operating profit than the one just filed.

Samsung’s earnings conference call was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Korea time the same morning. The company also filed its quarterly dividend decision on Oct 29: 4,601 won (about US$3.44) per share. It goes to shareholders on record as of Sept 30.

Seoul turned lower after a firm start

Korean stocks began the day slightly up, according to Yonhap and JoongAng Daily. The US Federal Reserve had left interest rates unchanged, and investors were waiting on Samsung’s numbers, the two outlets reported. By the close, the KOSPI was down 1.24% at 5,937.66.

The TIGER 200, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the KOSPI 200 index of large Korean companies, fell 1.78% over the same session. Samsung’s 4.13% loss was deeper than both the index and the fund.

That gap matters for investors abroad because of Samsung’s size in the market. On Oct 29 its market value was 1,356.34 trillion won (about US$1.01 trillion), or 29.93% of the KOSPI 200’s total market value. Anyone holding a fund that tracks that index carries a large slice of Samsung, and the stock’s move shapes much of the fund’s day.

A volatile October for the stock

The results-day drop interrupted a short rebound. Over five sessions to Oct 29 the stock was still up 8.16%, a stretch that included the 9.01% jump. Over 20 sessions it was down 14.86%.

From Oct 8 to Oct 29 the shares lost 11.45% in won and 11.34% in dollars. The currency did little to change that picture for holders outside Korea. The won ended the span almost where it began, at 1,336.8 per dollar against 1,338.5 on Oct 8.

Repurchase window and payout dates

Two dated items remain. In August, Samsung filed a plan to repurchase 53,285,968 common shares worth about 15 trillion won (about US$11.2 billion), to be used for employee stock compensation. That repurchase period runs until Nov 21, 2026. The 4,601 won quarterly dividend is scheduled to be paid on Nov 27, 2026.

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Information only, not investment advice.