Samsung Electronics on Tuesday projected a far worse than expected 56% plunge in second-quarter operating profit due to weak AI chip sales, deepening investor concerns over the tech giant's ability to revive its struggling semiconductor business.

Samsung Electronics Co.’s profit fell for the first time since 2023, hurt by US curbs on China-bound AI chips and hiccups in its plans to sell cutting-edge memory to Nvidia Corp.

According to the smart estimates, Samsung was expected to post an operating profit of 6.26 trillion won ($4.57 billion) for the quarter.