Latest news with #HanJong-Hee
Khaleej Times
08-04-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Samsung's Q1 profit steady at $4.49 billion as buyers rush orders ahead of US tariffs
Samsung Electronics on Tuesday flagged a much smaller-than-feared 0.2 per cent fall in first-quarter operating profit, boosted by solid memory chip sales and strong smartphone demand, partly driven by customers concerned about US tariffs. Sales of conventional memory chips used in consumer devices such as smartphones and AI chips likely came in better than expected, with some customers stockpiling chips ahead of potential US tariffs on semiconductors, analysts said. The world's largest memory chipmaker estimated an operating profit of 6.6 trillion won ($4.49 billion) for the January-March period, well above a 5.1 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate. That would compare with 6.61 trillion won in the same period a year earlier and 6.49 trillion won in the preceding quarter. "While general memory prices dipped, strong demand from customers looking to secure inventory ahead of potential US tariffs helped boost Samsung's memory chip shipments, supporting overall performance," said Greg Roh, head of research at Hyundai Motor Securities. Shares of Samsung rose 2.6 per cent in morning trade following its preliminary earnings, outperforming a 1.6 per cent rise in the benchmark KOSPI. Samsung, reshuffling its top ranks following the sudden death of co-CEO Han Jong-Hee last month, is expected to release detailed results on April 30. Last week, US President Donald Trump announced a slew of reciprocal tariffs on trading partners, including China. While semiconductors were exempted from reciprocal tariffs, Trump on Thursday reiterated plans to levy tariffs on chips very soon. Roh said Samsung's AI features in the Galaxy S25 smartphone models helped drive strong sales, adding that preemptive smartphone shipments by North American customers ahead of the tariffs likely contributed to first-quarter results. Samsung Electronics in January unveiled its newest Galaxy S25 smartphones, hoping their upgraded AI features could reinvigorate sales and fend off Apple and Chinese rivals. As a result of buyers stocking up in the first quarter, analysts said shipments are likely to decline in the second quarter. Kim Sun-woo, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities, said Samsung's second-quarter operating profit could stagnate also due to delays in securing new customers for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. Analysts estimated that Samsung's chip division profit might have halved to about 800 billion won in the first quarter from a year earlier, as losses in the foundry business likely offset profits from the memory chip business. The foundry business involves making chips on a contract basis for customers such as Nvidia, Qualcomm and AMD. Samsung in January warned of sluggish sales of its AI chips in the first quarter due to US export restrictions to China, Samsung's top market. Samsung's chairman, Jay Y. Lee, was among executives who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing at China's annual conference late March. At a shareholder meeting in March, Samsung executives apologised for the company's poor share price stemming from its late response to the booming AI chip market. They expected chip earnings to recover in the second half on demand for smartphones and data centers, and as it aims to start supplying its improved HBM3E 12-high chips to Nvidia in the middle of this year. South Korea's SK Hynix the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, said last month some customers have brought forward orders in preparation for new U.S. tariffs, but was wary of counting on a sustained demand recovery. Micron Technology in March forecast third-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates, signalling strong demand for its HBM chips used in AI models.
Zawya
08-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Samsung sees Q1 profit beating estimates as looming tariffs spur chip, phone sales
SEOUL - Samsung Electronics on Tuesday flagged a much smaller-than-feared 0.2% fall in first-quarter operating profit, boosted by solid memory chip sales and strong smartphone demand, partly driven by customers concerned about U.S. tariffs. Sales of conventional memory chips used in consumer devices such as smartphones and AI chips likely came in better than expected, with some customers stockpiling chips ahead of potential U.S. tariffs on semiconductors, analysts said. The world's largest memory chipmaker estimated an operating profit of 6.6 trillion won ($4.49 billion) for the January-March period, well above a 5.1 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate. That would compare with 6.61 trillion won in the same period a year earlier and 6.49 trillion won in the preceding quarter. "While general memory prices dipped, strong demand from customers looking to secure inventory ahead of potential U.S. tariffs helped boost Samsung's memory chip shipments, supporting overall performance," said Greg Roh, head of research at Hyundai Motor Securities. Shares of Samsung rose 2.6% in morning trade following its preliminary earnings, outperforming a 1.6% rise in the benchmark KOSPI. Samsung, reshuffling its top ranks following the sudden death of co-CEO Han Jong-Hee last month, is expected to release detailed results on April 30. SECOND QUARTER SEEN WEAKER Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a slew of reciprocal tariffs on trading partners, including China. While semiconductors were exempted from reciprocal tariffs, Trump on Thursday reiterated plans to levy tariffs on chips very soon. Roh said Samsung's AI features in the Galaxy S25 smartphone models helped drive strong sales, adding that preemptive smartphone shipments by North American customers ahead of the tariffs likely contributed to first-quarter results. Samsung Electronics in January unveiled its newest Galaxy S25 smartphones, hoping their upgraded AI features could reinvigorate sales and fend off Apple and Chinese rivals. As a result of buyers stocking up in the first quarter, analysts said shipments are likely to decline in the second quarter. Kim Sun-woo, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities, said Samsung's second-quarter operating profit could stagnate also due to delays in securing new customers for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. Analysts estimated that Samsung's chip division profit might have halved to about 800 billion won in the first quarter from a year earlier, as losses in the foundry business likely offset profits from the memory chip business. The foundry business involves making chips on a contract basis for customers such as Nvidia, Qualcomm and AMD. Samsung in January warned of sluggish sales of its AI chips in the first quarter due to U.S. export restrictions to China, Samsung's top market. Samsung's chairman, Jay Y. Lee, was among executives who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing at China's annual conference late March. At a shareholder meeting in March, Samsung executives apologised for the company's poor share price stemming from its late response to the booming AI chip market. They expected chip earnings to recover in the second half on demand for smartphones and data centers, and as it aims to start supplying its improved HBM3E 12-high chips to Nvidia in the middle of this year. South Korea's SK Hynix the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, said last month some customers have brought forward orders in preparation for new U.S. tariffs, but was wary of counting on a sustained demand recovery. Micron Technology in March forecast third-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates, signalling strong demand for its HBM chips used in AI models. ($1 = 1,468.6000 won) (Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Sonali Paul) Reuters
Asharq Al-Awsat
08-04-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Samsung Sees Q1 Profit Beating Estimates as Looming Tariffs Spur Chip, Phone Sales
Samsung Electronics on Tuesday flagged a much smaller-than-feared 0.2% fall in first-quarter operating profit, boosted by solid memory chip sales and strong smartphone demand, partly driven by customers concerned about US tariffs. Sales of conventional memory chips used in consumer devices such as smartphones and AI chips likely came in better than expected, with some customers stockpiling chips ahead of potential US tariffs on semiconductors, analysts said. The world's largest memory chipmaker estimated an operating profit of 6.6 trillion won ($4.49 billion) for the January-March period, well above a 5.1 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate. That would compare with 6.61 trillion won in the same period a year earlier and 6.49 trillion won in the preceding quarter. "While general memory prices dipped, strong demand from customers looking to secure inventory ahead of potential US tariffs helped boost Samsung's memory chip shipments, supporting overall performance," said Greg Roh, head of research at Hyundai Motor Securities. Shares of Samsung rose 2.6% in morning trade following its preliminary earnings, outperforming a 1.6% rise in the benchmark KOSPI. Samsung, reshuffling its top ranks following the sudden death of co-CEO Han Jong-Hee last month, is expected to release detailed results on April 30. SECOND QUARTER SEEN WEAKER Last week, US President Donald Trump announced a slew of reciprocal tariffs on trading partners, including China. While semiconductors were exempted from reciprocal tariffs, Trump on Thursday reiterated plans to levy tariffs on chips very soon. Roh said Samsung's AI features in the Galaxy S25 smartphone models helped drive strong sales, adding that preemptive smartphone shipments by North American customers ahead of the tariffs likely contributed to first-quarter results. Samsung Electronics in January unveiled its newest Galaxy S25 smartphones, hoping their upgraded AI features could reinvigorate sales and fend off Apple and Chinese rivals. As a result of buyers stocking up in the first quarter, analysts said shipments are likely to decline in the second quarter. Kim Sun-woo, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities, said Samsung's second-quarter operating profit could stagnate also due to delays in securing new customers for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. Analysts estimated that Samsung's chip division profit might have halved to about 800 billion won in the first quarter from a year earlier, as losses in the foundry business likely offset profits from the memory chip business. The foundry business involves making chips on a contract basis for customers such as Nvidia, Qualcomm and AMD. Samsung in January warned of sluggish sales of its AI chips in the first quarter due to US export restrictions to China, Samsung's top market. Samsung's chairman, Jay Y. Lee, was among executives who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing at China's annual conference late March. At a shareholder meeting in March, Samsung executives apologized for the company's poor share price stemming from its late response to the booming AI chip market. They expected chip earnings to recover in the second half on demand for smartphones and data centers, and as it aims to start supplying its improved HBM3E 12-high chips to Nvidia in the middle of this year. South Korea's SK Hynix the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, said last month some customers have brought forward orders in preparation for new US tariffs, but was wary of counting on a sustained demand recovery. Micron Technology in March forecast third-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates, signaling strong demand for its HBM chips used in AI models.
Reuters
06-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Samsung Q1 profit to drop 21% on weak AI chip sales, foundry losses
SEOUL, April 7 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics ( opens new tab is expected to forecast a 21% drop in the first quarter profit on Tuesday, hurt by sluggish sales of artificial intelligence chips and continued losses in its contract chip manufacturing business. The world's biggest maker of memory chips, in the midst of a management reshuffle following the sudden death of co-CEO Han Jong-Hee in late March, is due to report preliminary first-quarter earnings on Tuesday. Samsung has been grappling with falling chip profits since the middle of last year as it fell behind key rival SK Hynix ( opens new tab in supplying high-performance memory chips to AI chip leader Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab. Its struggle in the high-end market has left the South Korean tech giant heavily reliant on customers in China looking for less advanced products that are not subject to U.S. export restrictions. Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities, estimated that AI chip demand from Chinese customers dropped in the first quarter after front-loading in the previous quarter in anticipation of more U.S. sales restrictions. "The share of HBM chips in Samsung's overall DRAM shipments may have declined slightly in the first quarter, leading to an expected decrease in DRAM profitability," he said, referring to high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used to make AI chipsets. Samsung is projected to report 5.2 trillion won ($3.62 billion) in the January-March quarter operating profit, according to LSEG SmartEstimate. It reported a 6.6 trillion won profit in the same period a year ago. While Samsung is working on a redesigned version of its most advanced HBM chips to supply key clients, its relatively heavy exposure to commodity chips has made its profitability more vulnerable to volatile prices, analysts said. Prices of some DRAM memory chips, widely used in smartphones and PCs, fell by about 25% in the first quarter over the year, and prices for NAND flash chips, used in data storage, fell around 50% during the same period, according to TrendForce data. As a result, Samsung is again expected to underperform SK Hynix, whose profit is expected to more than double from a year earlier, LSEG data showed, benefiting from robust AI chip demand. Sweeping reciprocal tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on its trading partners are also set to raise costs for Samsung's various products ranging from smartphones to TVs, laptops and home appliances. "Samsung could look to diversify its production base ... as part of its mid-to-long-term strategy. However, that isn't something that can be done within a year or two," said Jeff Kim, head of research at KB Securities. "If tariffs on consumer electronic devices, such as smartphones, persist, they will inevitably impact consumer demand." In its contract chip manufacturing business, Samsung is likely to further delay the start-up of its new U.S. factory to 2027 from 2026, as it has yet to win major production orders, keeping its foundry business in the red, analysts said. Samsung originally planned to open the plant in 2024. Estimated Q1 operating profit at Samsung's chip division was 1.7 trillion won, according to LSEG data, versus 1.9 trillion won a year ago. Samsung's mobile and network business is likely to report 3.7 trillion won in profit, up from from 3.5 trillion won a year ago, helped by increased smartphone shipments and a plunge in local currency that increases repatriated earnings. ($1 = 1,435.9000 won)
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Samsung Q1 profit to drop 21% on weak AI chip sales, foundry losses
By Heekyong Yang SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics is expected to forecast a 21% drop in the first quarter profit on Tuesday, hurt by sluggish sales of artificial intelligence chips and continued losses in its contract chip manufacturing business. The world's biggest maker of memory chips, in the midst of a management reshuffle following the sudden death of co-CEO Han Jong-Hee in late March, is due to report preliminary first-quarter earnings on Tuesday. Samsung has been grappling with falling chip profits since the middle of last year as it fell behind key rival SK Hynix in supplying high-performance memory chips to AI chip leader Nvidia. Its struggle in the high-end market has left the South Korean tech giant heavily reliant on customers in China looking for less advanced products that are not subject to U.S. export restrictions. Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities, estimated that AI chip demand from Chinese customers dropped in the first quarter after front-loading in the previous quarter in anticipation of more U.S. sales restrictions. "The share of HBM chips in Samsung's overall DRAM shipments may have declined slightly in the first quarter, leading to an expected decrease in DRAM profitability," he said, referring to high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used to make AI chipsets. Samsung is projected to report 5.2 trillion won ($3.62 billion) in the January-March quarter operating profit, according to LSEG SmartEstimate. It reported a 6.6 trillion won profit in the same period a year ago. While Samsung is working on a redesigned version of its most advanced HBM chips to supply key clients, its relatively heavy exposure to commodity chips has made its profitability more vulnerable to volatile prices, analysts said. Prices of some DRAM memory chips, widely used in smartphones and PCs, fell by about 25% in the first quarter over the year, and prices for NAND flash chips, used in data storage, fell around 50% during the same period, according to TrendForce data. As a result, Samsung is again expected to underperform SK Hynix, whose profit is expected to more than double from a year earlier, LSEG data showed, benefiting from robust AI chip demand. Sweeping reciprocal tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on its trading partners are also set to raise costs for Samsung's various products ranging from smartphones to TVs, laptops and home appliances. "Samsung could look to diversify its production base ... as part of its mid-to-long-term strategy. However, that isn't something that can be done within a year or two," said Jeff Kim, head of research at KB Securities. "If tariffs on consumer electronic devices, such as smartphones, persist, they will inevitably impact consumer demand." In its contract chip manufacturing business, Samsung is likely to further delay the start-up of its new U.S. factory to 2027 from 2026, as it has yet to win major production orders, keeping its foundry business in the red, analysts said. Samsung originally planned to open the plant in 2024. Estimated Q1 operating profit at Samsung's chip division was 1.7 trillion won, according to LSEG data, versus 1.9 trillion won a year ago. Samsung's mobile and network business is likely to report 3.7 trillion won in profit, up from from 3.5 trillion won a year ago, helped by increased smartphone shipments and a plunge in local currency that increases repatriated earnings. ($1 = 1,435.9000 won) Sign in to access your portfolio
