Samsung flags chip slowdown as profit drops sharply from previous quarter
Samsung Electronics on Friday reported that its operating profit dropped sharply from the previous three months as it ramps up R&D spending, while flagging a slowdown in its chips business.
The South Korean company posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue, though its operating profit missed expectations.
Here are Samsung's fourth-quarter results compared with LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate:
Revenue rose about 12% from last year, while operating profit grew about 130%, year on year. However, operating profit fell nearly 30%, and revenue slipped by over 4%, quarter on quarter, amid soft market conditions and an increase in company expenditures.
Fourth-quarter revenue beatSamsung's own guidance of KRW 75 trillion, while operating profit came in line with the company's forecast.
Samsung is a leading manufacturer of memory chips, which are utilized in devices such as laptops and servers, and is also the world's second-largest player in 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 full year, Samsung reported 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 operating profit of KRW 6.57 trillion.
For the current quarter, Samsung said that earnings might be limited due to weakness in its semiconductor business but that it would pursue growth through AI smartphones and other premium devices.
"For 2025 as a whole, the Company plans to enhance technological and product