Top Stories This Morning: Samsung's Profits Soared 19-Fold; Meta Faces a $1.4 Trillion Fine

Samsung increased its quarterly operating profit 19-fold—to a record $58 billion—but its stock price fell after the earnings report. Investors in South Korea began taking profits on shares of chipmakers, leading to a sharp plunge in the Kospi index and a temporary suspension of trading. Iran has resumed attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported. Read about these and other topics in our roundup of key events as of the morning of July 7.

Samsung’s operating profit in the second quarter rose 19-fold to a record 89.4 trillion won ($58 billion), while revenue exceeded 171 trillion won (about $112 billion), according to Bloomberg. The growth was driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence memory, but the results only slightly exceeded market expectations, causing the company’s stock to fall 9.3%, the agency notes.

Analysts expect the memory shortage to persist at least until 2027, giving Samsung and its competitors—SK Hynix and Micron Technology—significant market power when it comes to pricing. In 2026, Samsung also plans to allocate more than $70 billion toward expanding production and research.

South Korea's Kospi index fell nearly 8% during Tuesday's trading session, and trading was temporarily suspended, according to the Economic Times. In addition to Samsung Electronics, shares of SK Hynix fell sharply—by 11%—and LG Energy Solution—by 9%.

Investors have begun to question the sustainability of the artificial intelligence boom and have started taking profits on shares of chipmakers, the publication notes. Additional pressure on the market came from a nearly 23% drop in the share price of shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean after it lost a bid to supply submarines to Canada, as well as declines in the shares of Hyundai Motor, Kia, and POSCO Holdings.

On the evening of July 6, Iran fired at least two missiles at commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported, citing a source. According to the source, both vessels sustained significant damage. The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center also reported on Monday that it had information about a tanker being damaged approximately 15 km off the coast of Oman.

Against the backdrop of this news, the price of Brent crude rose by 0.4%.

The attack will be a test of the agreement reached with the U.S. in June, Bloomberg notes. The U.S.-Iran conflict is expected to be one of the main topics at the NATO leaders' summit in Turkey.

Meta reported that authorities in California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are seeking to recover approximately $1.4 trillion from the company in a case alleging that Facebook and Instagram caused addiction among teenagers and misled users about the safety of their platforms, Reuters reports. The trial is set to begin in August.

The company denies the allegations and calls the fine unprecedented and unsubstantiated by evidence. In addition, Meta, along with TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat, is also facing thousands of similar lawsuits related to the impact of social media on the mental health of children and adolescents.

OpenAI, SoftBank, Altimeter, and D1 Capital are investing approximately $2 billion in Thrive Holdings—a company founded by Thrive Capital that acquires controlling stakes in accounting, IT, and other service businesses and modernizes them using artificial intelligence, The Information has learned. The firm had previously raised $1 billion from existing Thrive Capital investors.

OpenAI holds a stake in Thrive Holdings and provides the project with researchers and engineers. The company has already invested in consortia of accounting and IT firms that are implementing AI agents to automate workflows, and plans to expand this strategy to other industries in the future.

Thrive Capital manages approximately $50 billion in assets, making it one of the largest venture capital firms in the world, the publication notes.

Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian plans to issue 75 million new shares worth approximately $1.5 billion, according to Bloomberg. The company will use the proceeds, among other things, to meet the terms of a $4.5 billion loan agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy, with funding expected to begin in 2027.

Last week, Rivian raised its delivery forecast for 2026 following the successful launch of its new R2 crossover and reported quarterly deliveries that exceeded market expectations. Following the announcement of a secondary offering, the company’s stock fell more than 9% in after-hours trading.

Syntiant, an American developer of AI chips and software, has filed for an IPO in the U.S., according to Bloomberg. The company's investors include Intel, Microsoft, and Knowles, and Citigroup, Bank of America, and UBS will serve as underwriters for the offering.

In the first quarter, Syntiant’s net loss increased by 56% to $26.2 million, while revenue remained largely unchanged at $64.5 million. Since its founding in 2017, the company has raised $311 million in investments, and following its latest funding round at the end of 2024, it was valued at $646.4 million.

— Japan's broad-based Topix index was down 0.8%, while the Nikkei 225 was down 2%.

— Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.5%, while mainland China's CSI 300 Index fell 1.3%.

— In South Korea, the KOSPI index fell 7.9%, and the KOSDAQ index fell 3.6%.

— Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.4%.

— Nasdaq Composite futures were down 1.1%, S&P 500 futures were down 0.3%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were unchanged.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor