Two Big Tech items this week show the AI build-out from different angles. Samsung Electronics has guided to a third-quarter operating profit of about ₩107.4 trillion, almost nine times the figure a year earlier. Coverage credits demand for memory chips in AI data centres [1][2]. Separately, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has joined the Linux Foundation as a Platinum member, the top tier, which comes with a board seat [3].
The first item is about who is earning money from AI hardware. The second is about who helps steer the open-source software that AI runs on.
Samsung’s guidance: what the company actually said
Company-reported, preliminary. Samsung published earnings guidance for July to September 2026 on 8 October [1]:
| Q3 2026 guidance (midpoint) | Range | Q2 2026 | Q3 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | ~₩195tn | ₩194tn–₩196tn | ₩171.5tn | ₩86.06tn |
| Operating profit | ~₩107.40tn | ₩107.3tn–₩107.5tn | ₩89.49tn | ₩12.17tn |
Samsung explains that Korean disclosure rules do not allow ranges as the headline estimate, so it publishes the midpoint [1]. The figures follow Korean accounting standards (K-IFRS). Net profit and a breakdown by division were not included [1][2].
What Yonhap adds. The news agency calculates operating profit up 782.5% year on year and revenue up 126.6%. It says the profit figure beat the average market forecast by 1.6%, according to its data arm, Yonhap Infomax [2]. It converts the profit to about US$79.8 billion. If confirmed, Yonhap says, this would be the first quarterly operating profit above ₩100 trillion by a South Korean company, and Samsung’s fourth record quarter in a row [2]. Yonhap estimates the operating margin at about 55.1% [2].
Why profits jumped. Yonhap attributes the result to continued global investment in AI infrastructure. That investment has tightened chip supply and kept memory prices high. Yonhap also notes that Samsung was first in the industry to mass-produce and ship sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4), the stacked memory used alongside AI accelerators [2]. Samsung’s own guidance gives no reasons [1].
Not everything is up. Citing industry estimates, Yonhap reports that Samsung’s foundry and System LSI chip businesses are believed to have stayed in the red. The phones and consumer-electronics division is estimated to have lost money for a second quarter, as component costs rose [2]. These are analysts’ estimates, not Samsung’s figures. The full results are due later in October [2].
Why it matters. Memory is one of the clearest places where AI spending turns into profit. Every AI server needs it, and supply has been tight. The same price rises that help Samsung’s chip unit are, by Yonhap’s account, squeezing its own device business [2]. Expensive memory is a cost for everyone building AI hardware.
AWS joins the Linux Foundation at Platinum
Confirmed. The Linux Foundation announced on 7 October 2026 that AWS has become a Platinum member, its highest membership level [3]. As a Platinum member, AWS will have representation on the Linux Foundation’s board of directors [3].
According to the foundation [3]:
- AWS now holds active memberships in 25 projects and foundations under the Linux Foundation umbrella.
- It is a Platinum member of the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF), the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), the PyTorch Foundation and the Yocto Project.
- It is a premier member of others, including the Open Source Security Foundation, the Post-Quantum Cryptography Alliance, Valkey and the x402 Foundation.
- AWS was a founding member of the AAIF and transferred its OpenSearch project to the foundation in 2024.
AWS’s head of open source, Stormy Peters, said that when AWS builds infrastructure “that solves a problem beyond AWS, we look for a neutral home to help sustain it” [3]. The announcement does not state the cost of Platinum membership.
Why it matters. The Linux Foundation hosts much of the open-source plumbing that AI systems run on, from Kubernetes and PyTorch to the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which connects AI agents to tools [3]. A board seat gives AWS a formal voice in how that shared infrastructure is funded and run, alongside the other top-tier members. It does not give AWS control of any single project.
What this does not prove
- That Samsung’s final results will match. Guidance is preliminary, and full results come later in October [1][2].
- How much of the profit comes from AI memory. Samsung gave no breakdown. The AI explanation is Yonhap’s and the industry’s [2].
- That memory prices will stay high. Yonhap reports that industry observers expect favourable conditions through next year. That is a forecast, and TSN makes none [2].
- What AWS’s Platinum seat will change. The announcement describes membership, not new commitments to particular projects or funding amounts [3].
- Any investment view on Samsung or Amazon.
The Bottom Line
Samsung’s guidance points to roughly ₩107.4 trillion in quarterly operating profit, up from ₩12.17 trillion a year earlier, and coverage puts AI data-centre memory demand at the centre of the jump [1][2]. AWS, meanwhile, has taken a seat on the Linux Foundation’s board as a Platinum member [3]. One story shows the profits flowing to AI hardware suppliers. The other shows the biggest cloud companies paying for a say in the shared software layer.
Sources
- Samsung Electronics, “Samsung Electronics Announces Earnings Guidance for Third Quarter 2026” (company release), 8 October 2026. https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-electronics-announces-earnings-guidance-for-third-quarter-2026
- Kim Han-joo, “(2nd LD) Samsung’s Q3 operating profit reaches new high of 107.4 tln won,” Yonhap News Agency, 8 October 2026. https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20261008000952320
- The Linux Foundation, “AWS Becomes a Platinum Member of the Linux Foundation, Deepening Commitment to Open Source” (press release, PR Newswire), 7 October 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aws-becomes-a-platinum-member-of-the-linux-foundation-deepening-commitment-to-open-source-302896983.html
