The South Korean giant said Friday (January 8) that fourth quarter operating profit probably jumped 26%.

That would take it to just over 8.2 billion dollars.

The gain comes as home working drives demand for electronics.

Consumers are snapping up new screens and other gadgets.

Samsung shares soared 7% following the news.

They're now up about 67% since September.

The world's biggest memory chip maker has also been buoyed by strong demand for semiconductors.

Analysts say that's driving a faster-than-expected rebound in prices for chips.

Smartphones are the one downside.

Samsung estimates shipments will be down 17.5% on the previous quarter.

That's in part due to competition from Apple's new iPhone 12.

Samsung is now expected to unveil its latest flagship handset next week, earlier than in past years.

Industry watchers say that's likely a bid to fill the vacuum left after rival Huawei lost market share due to U.S. restrictions.