South Korean companies posted their strongest growth and profitability on record in the second quarter, driven by a semiconductor boom fueled by expanding artificial intelligence investment. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix accounted for much of the gain, but the improvement spread across corporate Korea, with revenue growth accelerating in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors even when the two chipmakers are excluded.
Revenue at companies subject to external audits rose 26.7% in the second quarter, up 13.2 percentage points from 13.5% in the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea's second-quarter 2026 business analysis released on the 9th. That marked the highest figure since the data series began in the first quarter of 2015. Manufacturing revenue jumped 39.6%, led by machinery and electrical and electronic products at 88.5% and electronics, video and telecommunications equipment at 119.7%.
Excluding Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, manufacturing revenue growth eased to 14.0% but stayed in double digits. Non-manufacturing revenue growth also widened to 9.7% from 3.7% in the previous quarter. Construction revenue turned positive at 0.3% from a 4.0% decline, the first increase in eight quarters.
The chip effect was even more pronounced in profitability. The operating margin for all companies came in at 16.9% in the second quarter, up 3.7 percentage points from the previous quarter and the highest since the data began in the first quarter of 2015. The manufacturing operating margin climbed to 24.0%. The central bank attributed the gain largely to operating leverage, as rising semiconductor output reduced the relative burden of fixed costs.
Excluding Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the overall operating margin falls to 6.2%, down 10.7 percentage points, and the manufacturing margin drops to 7.2%. That means the large chipmakers lifted much of the improvement in overall profitability. Still, the central bank judged it difficult to conclude that the earnings recovery was concentrated only in the large chipmakers, given that manufacturing revenue excluding the two companies grew 14.0% and the sector's operating margin was not far from the 5.0% posted by non-manufacturing. "Even excluding Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, growth and profitability are improving, and the indicators are getting better overall," said Lee Mi-joo, head of the Bank of Korea's corporate statistics team.
By company size, revenue growth also picked up from the previous quarter, rising 30.5% at large companies and 10.2% at small and medium-sized enterprises.
