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Samsung Electronics on Friday reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue, though its operating profit dropped sharply from the previous three months on account of higher R&D expenses in its chips segment.
Listed here are Samsung’s fourth-quarter results compared with LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who’re more consistently accurate:
- Revenue: 75.8 trillion Korean won ($52.2 billion) vs. KRW 75.4 trillion
- Operating profit: KRW 6.5 trillion vs. KRW 6.8 trillion
Revenue rose about 12% from the identical period from last yr, while operating profit grew about 130%, yr on yr. Nevertheless, operating profit fell nearly 30%, and revenue slipped by over 4%, quarter on quarter, amid soft market conditions and a rise in company expenditures.
Samsung shares fell 2.2% in South Korea on Friday morning.
Fourth-quarter revenue beat Samsung’s own guidance of KRW 75 trillion, while operating profit got here in step with the corporate’s forecast.
Samsung is a number one manufacturer of memory chips, that are utilized in devices resembling laptops and servers, and can be the world’s second-largest player within the smartphone market.
“Although fourth quarter revenue and operating profit decreased on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, annual revenue reached the second-highest on record, surpassed only in 2022,” Samsung said in its statement.
For the total yr, Samsung reported KRW 300.9 trillion in revenue and KRW 32.7 trillion in operating profit. In 2023, the corporate posted an annual revenue of KRW 258.94 trillion and an operating profit of KRW 6.57 trillion.
For the present quarter, Samsung said that earnings may be limited on account of weakness in its semiconductor business but that it could pursue growth through AI smartphones and other premium devices.Â
“For 2025 as an entire, the Company plans to boost technological and product benefits in AI, proceed to satisfy future demand for high-value-added products and drive sales growth in premium segments,” it added.
Memory business
Samsung Electronics’ chip business posted an operating profit of KRW 2.9 trillion within the fourth quarter, down over 25% from the three months ending in October, while its annual numbers got here in below that of SK Hynix.
This was despite Samsung’s memory business achieving a record-high fourth-quarter revenue of 30.1 trillion helped by demand for its advanced memory products used for AI applications.Â
“[O]perating profit decreased barely in comparison with the previous quarter consequently of increased R&D expenses to secure future technology leadership, in addition to the initial ramp-up costs to secure production capability for cutting-edge nodes,” Samsung said.Â
Samsung and SK Hynix each provide DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, products — a kind of semiconductor memory needed for data processing.Â
Nevertheless, SK Hynix has left Samsung behind in HBM, or high bandwidth memory, a kind of DRAM, during which chips are vertically stacked to save lots of space and reduce power consumption.Â
Based on Samsung, its memory business is cutting down legacy products to raised align with market demand and increasing its proportion of high value-added products, resembling HBM.Â
“In 2025, overall memory market demand is anticipated to get better from the second quarter,” Samsung said, warning that its earnings are expected to stay weak in the present quarter. Â
Smartphones
Samsung’s Mobile eXperience and Networks businesses, tasked with developing and selling smartphones, tablets, wearables and other devices, reported a quarter-over-quarter decrease in sales and profit.
Samsung said the performance was partially on account of the fading effects of latest flagship smartphone model launches.
The segment saw a consolidated revenue of KRW 25.8 trillion and an operating profit of KRW 2.1 trillion within the fourth quarter.
“Nevertheless, on a full-year basis, 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 increasing in each value and shipments,” Samsung said.Â
In the present quarter, Samsung plans to drive sales growth with latest flagship models, particularly its newly launched Galaxy S25 series and can proceed to push into the AI smartphone market.
