Samsung officially released its Q1 2017 earnings guidance today and it's in line with market expectations. Analysts are of the view that Samsung's operating profit this quarter will be close to the record high it hit back in the third quarter of 2013. The company predicts that its Q1 2017 revenue is going to be 50 trillion won or $44 billion with the operating profit coming out to be around 9.9 trillion won or $8.7 billion.
This is going to be the highest Q1 profit ever for Samsung and the second-best overall since that record was set back in Q3 2013. This figure also represents a 50 percent increase year-over-year compared to the first quarter of 2016.
Samsung's display and semiconductor divisions are believed to be the primary drivers of this performance. The handset division was without a new flagship to sell for the past two quarters ever since the Galaxy Note 7 was discontinued.
The company is actually expected to beat its all-time high operating profit record in the second quarter this year and the Galaxy S8 may play a significant role in that.