Samsung ElectronicsUnaudited preliminary results for the second quarter will be released on Wednesday, and analysts surveyed by Refinitiv now on average expect second-quarter operating profit to rise 38% to 11.3 trillion won ($10 billion), a three-year high, thanks to strong chip prices and a recovery in consumer demand for electronics and data center investment triggered by a pandemic.

The South Korean tech giant's strong performance-although its smartphone shipments were lower than in the first quarter of this year-highlights the huge demand for chips, which has run out of inventory and filled capacity.

Analysts said the company's chip division could benefit from higher memory chip prices, better-than-expected results and increased shipments.

Profits in Samsung's chip manufacturing and logic chip design businesses also improved, in part because business at the storm-hit Texas plant returned to normal, analysts said.

They estimate that Samsung's chip division's second-quarter operating profit will rise by about 22% from a year earlier to 6.6 trillion won.