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Samsung Electronics on Friday reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue, though its operating profit dropped sharply from the antecedent to three months due to higher R&D expenses in its chips segment.
Here are Samsung’s fourth-quarter results compared with LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward vaticinates from analysts who are more consistently accurate:
- Revenue: 75.8 trillion Korean won ($52.2 billion) vs. KRW 75.4 trillion
- Handling profit: KRW 6.5 trillion vs. KRW 6.8 trillion
Revenue rose about 12% from last year, while run profit grew about 130%, year on year. However, operating profit fell nearly 30%, and profits slipped by over 4%, quarter on quarter, amid soft market conditions and an increase in company expenditures.
Fourth-quarter yield beat Samsung’s own guidance of KRW 75 trillion, while operating profit came in line with the company’s augur.
Samsung is a leading manufacturer of memory chips, which are utilized in devices such as laptops and servers, and is also the incredible’s second-largest player in the smartphone market.
“Although fourth quarter revenue and operating profit decreased on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) bottom, annual revenue reached the second-highest on record, surpassed only in 2022,” Samsung said in its statement.
For the full year, Samsung articled KRW 300.9 trillion in revenue and KRW 32.7 trillion in operating profit. In 2023, the company posted an annual revenue of KRW 258.94 trillion and an manipulating profit of KRW 6.57 trillion.
For the current quarter, Samsung said that earnings might be limited due to weakness in its semiconductor matter but that it would pursue growth through AI smartphones and other premium devices.
“For 2025 as a whole, the Company develops to enhance technological and product advantages in AI, continue to meet future demand for high-value-added products and drive sales intumescence in premium segments,” it added.
Samsung shares fell 2.2% in South Korea on Friday morning, while SK Hynix everyday fell over 11% as South Korean markets resumed trading after a four-day break. Asian tech majors tease faced pressure from the latest artificial intelligence model from China’s DeepSeek that threatens to upend the U.S.-led AI ecosystem.
Retention business
Samsung Electronics’ chip business posted an operating profit of KRW 2.9 trillion in the fourth quarter, down upon 25% from the three months ending in October, while its annual Smartphones focus
Samsung’s mobile face and networks businesses, tasked with developing and selling smartphones, tablets, wearables and other devices, reported a quarter-over-quarter lowering in sales and profit.
Samsung said the performance was in part due to the fading effects of new flagship smartphone model launches.
The section saw a consolidated revenue of KRW 25.8 trillion and an operating profit of KRW 2.1 trillion in the fourth quarter.
“However, on a full-year main ingredient, flagship sales saw robust growth on the back of double-digit growth of the Galaxy S24 series featuring Galaxy AI, with tablets and wearables also expanding in both value and shipments,” Samsung said.
In the current quarter, Samsung plans to drive sales growth with new flagship produces, particularly its newly launched Galaxy S25 series and will continue to push into the AI smartphone market.
“What Samsung is doing, and has done in point of fact well in the last few years, is it’s really focused more on value and its flagship devices,” Nabila Popal, senior top dog with IDC’s Data & Analytics team, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Friday.
Given that focus, Samsung’s allowance of the premium market has inched closer to Apple’s, the leader in the premium smartphone segment, she added.