Samsung's Record Profit Hides a Dirty Secret

Samsung posted a record operating profit of 89.5 trillion won (US$62 billion) for the second quarter. That is a jump of 1,814% from a year earlier. Revenue climbed 130% to 171.5 trillion won, another company record. Yet Samsung’s shares fell anyway. The same pattern hit SK Hynix, South Korea’s other major chipmaker. It also reported a record profit. The booming chip industry is making huge money. But investors are worried. The “dirty secret” is that this boom may not last. Demand for memory chips is high now, but prices are expected to drop soon. Oversupply could follow. For now, the numbers look great. But the market sees trouble ahead.