Samsung sets record profits, testing 24/7 equity perpetual debt

Samsung hit the highest quarterly profit in the history of a technology company, but the market still sold off its shares.

On July 7, Samsung Electronics released preliminary results for the second quarter, showing operating profit of 89.4 trillion won (approximately US$58.4 billion), which surged 19 times from the same period last year and set a record for the third consecutive quarter. Revenue reached 171 trillion won, more than double the same period last year. This performance exceeded the London Stock Exchange Group\'s consensus forecast of 87.3 trillion won, and quarterly operating profit exceeded Nvidia and Apple.

What drives this performance is artificial intelligence. A surge in demand from data center operators for memory chips used in AI servers drove chip prices up sharply during the quarter. According to Reuters citing Citi Research, the average selling price of DRAM memory rose by about 44% compared with the previous quarter, while the price of NAND flash memory rose by 53%. DRAM is a high-speed memory chip used to temporarily store data while computers, servers and AI systems are running;NAND flash memory is a memory chip that can permanently store data and is often used in solid state drives, smartphones and other devices.

However, Samsung\'s share price in Seoul closed down 6.9% on the day, and its market value evaporated by more than US$80 billion.

During Samsung\'s brightest week, the market was never closed

While traditional markets digested the news during standard trading hours, a parallel on-chain market was already trading Samsung\'s price exposure 24 hours a day. Decibel is a fully on-chain perpetual contract exchange built based on Aptos. It aims to provide 7×24-hour trading of cryptocurrencies, commodities, stock perpetual contracts and ETF perpetual contracts, with a maximum leverage of 10 times. The platform launched the SAMSUNG/USD Perpetual Contract (referred to as Samsung Perpetual Contract) on June 26, 2026, allowing eligible traders to leverage long or short Samsung prices when traditional markets are closed.

Brylee Whatley, head of the Decibel Foundation, said: \"Samsung is precisely the kind of market that can demonstrate why 7×24-hour stock perpetual contracts are crucial. Financial reports, AI demand and semiconductor market sentiment will not wait for trading hours on traditional exchanges. By launching Samsung Perpetual Contracts on Decibel, we provide eligible traders with a way to trade one of the world\'s most watched technology stocks on the chain market 24/7.\"

What does price data reveal

Samsung\'s perpetual contract opened at US$213.78 on June 26 and hit an all-time high of approximately US$226.47 within 24 hours of its launch, indicating that the market has initially optimistic expectations for the earnings season. Since then, as sentiment in the broader semiconductor market weakened, the contract price fell steadily over the following week and a half. As of July 8 (the day after Samsung\'s earnings report), the contract price hit a record low of about $173.72, and then rebounded. Compared with the listing price, the current contract price is down about 13% and about 18% from its historical high. It has since rebounded by about 7% from this week\'s low and is currently trading around $193.

As of July 8, Samsung\'s 24-hour trading volume of perpetual contracts was approximately US$83,800, and open interest was close to US$18,900. The funding rate is around 0.068% per period, which is positive, meaning that bulls are paying fees to bears, an unusual signal in a declining market.

Whatley added: \"The early Samsung market is still developing, but the behavior surrounding earnings is key. Traders were able to express their views before, during and after the quarter\'s biggest tech earnings event. Trading volume, open interest contracts and funding rates allow us to see in real time how on-chain traders are shaping up around the global stock narrative.\"

The same financial report, two very different markets

Samsung\'s perpetual contract on Decibel tracks Samsung\'s share price but is not traded on the Korean Exchange. Its trading volume and open interest are small, and recent trading flows show a pattern consistent with automated market-making activities. These data are more suitable to be interpreted as sentiment indicators of the market on a niche chain, rather than a direct proxy for Samsung\'s actual stock performance or business fundamentals. To fully understand how Samsung\'s earnings report affects its share price, the Korea Stock Exchange remains the main reference.

However, what Decibel Markets show is something else: the infrastructure for trading the world\'s major stocks on the chain 24/7 with leverage now exists and is running. Samsung\'s record-breaking quarter took place simultaneously on two exchanges: one on Seoul\'s traditional exchange and the other on the ever-closed chain market.