Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: Samsung Warns Of 56% Slump

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Samsung (OTCPK:SSNLF) warns 56% slump in Q2 profit as U.S. curbs hit AI chip business. (00:20) Discounter disconnect: Family Dollar officially separates from Dollar Tree (DLTR). (01:09) Energy Department warns of more U.S. blackouts by 2030 from relying on renewables. (01:31)

This is an abridged transcript.

Samsung Electronics (OTCPK:SSNLF) said Tuesday it expects second-quarter operating profit to drop 56% from a year ago. The decline comes as the company faces weakness in its chip business, partly due to U.S. trade restrictions on China.

Samsung expects operating profit for the April-June quarter to slump to 4.600 trillion Korean won (~$3.4 billion). That’s below the 6.359 trillion won estimate from FactSet. It also marks Samsung’s weakest result in six quarters, down from 10.4 trillion won a year earlier and 6.7 trillion won in Q1 2025.

Quarterly revenue is projected to stay flat at 74 trillion won. The stock traded nearly unchanged on Korea’s KOSPI index.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) announced the completion of the previously announced sale of its Family Dollar business to Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management for an aggregate base purchase price of $1.08 billion in cash, subject to certain adjustments.

Net proceeds from the sale are estimated to total approximately $800 million.

“The completion of this transaction marks a defining moment for Dollar Tree,” stated Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) CEO Mike Creedon. “With a singular focus on our core business, we are doubling down on what we do best – delivering value, convenience, and discovery to our customers every day. Now more than ever before, we are poised to accelerate our growth, innovate faster, and unlock our full potential as a category leader in value retail,” he added.

The U.S. Department of Energy said Monday that the massive deployment of wind and solar energy expected by 2030 will not be enough to support the growing power demand expected by data centers and artificial intelligence, warning that power outages could double in five years if suppliers fail to add capacity during peak demand.

“Blackouts could increase by 100% in 2030 if the U.S. continues to shutter reliable power sources,” the DoE said in a new report that analyzes how much generation is scheduled to retire and come online over the next five years.

The report, which pointed to the Biden administration’s green policies as a major reason for the retirement of power plants and the delay in approving their replacements, said the gap between electricity demand and supply is widening, particularly as artificial intelligence drives the need for more power-hungry data centers.

The report found that ~104 GW worth of plant retirements are scheduled by 2030, which DoE said threaten grid reliability since an insufficient amount of baseload power sources, such as coal, natural gas and nuclear, will be coming online.

“If we are going to keep the lights on, win the AI race, and keep electricity prices from skyrocketing, the United States must unleash American energy,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

What’s Trending on Seeking Alpha:

Trump says U.S. will send more weapons to Ukraine after last week’s pause

Epic Games settles antitrust app store case against Samsung

China issues warning to Trump over tariffs, vows countermeasures targeting key US supply chains

Catalyst watch:

• Shattuck Labs (STTK), Trevi Therapeutics (TRVI), and ANI Pharmaceuticals (ANIP) are some of the companies scheduled to participate at the Leerink Partners Therapeutics Forum: I&I and Metabolism. Similar Leerink events have led to analyst re-ratings in the past.

• Centrus Energy (LEU) management will participate in a virtual fireside chat moderated by William Blair.

Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in mixed territory. Crude oil is down 0.6% at $67/barrel. Bitcoin is up 0.1% at $108,000. Gold is down 0.3% at $3,325.

The FTSE 100 is up 0.1% and the DAX is up 0.3%.

The biggest movers for the day premarket: Wolfspeed (NYSE:WOLF) +17% – Shares extended Monday’s 96% surge after the chipmaker named Gregor van Issum as CFO, effective Sept. 1.

On today’s economic calendar:

Editor’s Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.