Samsung SDI returned to operating profitability in the third quarter of 2026, driven by strong demand for energy storage system (ESS) batteries and growing sales of small batteries for artificial intelligence data centers. The battery maker reported Thursday an operating profit of 407.8 billion won ($285 million) for the July-September period, compared with an operating loss of 591.3 billion won a year earlier. The figure nearly doubled from 203.8 billion won in the previous quarter, marking its highest quarterly operating profit since the third quarter of 2023, when it recorded 496 billion won. Revenue rose 52.6 percent year-on-year to 4.69 trillion won, up from 3.07 trillion won a year earlier and 20.9 percent from the previous quarter. The battery business generated 4.41 trillion won in revenue, up 55.3 percent from a year earlier, while operating profit reached 361.9 billion won. Strong ESS and battery backup unit (BBU) sales amid the expansion of the global AI data center market, along with increased sales of cylindrical batteries for power tools and electric vehicles, drove the im