Samsung Electronics performed better than expected in Q3 2022 thanks to strong mobile phone sales and display panel demand, despite semiconductor industry weakness. The company posted an operating profit of 2 trillion Korean won ($1.4 billion) for Q3’22, far exceeding market expectations.
This is Samsung’s first quarter with a trillion won operating profit so far this year. However, Samsung’s profit was down 77.9% compared to Q3’22, but up 258.2% from Q2’23’s 670 billion won ($500 million). The strong performance beat analysts’ expectations of 1.8 trillion won operating profit for the quarter.
Samsung’s sales for Q3’23 were 67 trillion won ($49.9 billion), down 12.7% YoY but up 11.7% QoQ. The semiconductor division likely saw an operating loss of around 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) due to industry downturn. However, the mobile and display divisions performed well, offsetting the semiconductor weakness. Samsung Display’s operating profit was estimated at over 1 trillion won ($746 million), helped by OLED panel supply for the iPhone 15. The mobile division saw a boost from the launch of Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 foldable phones. Its operating profit is estimated at 2-3 trillion won ($1.4-2.2 billion). According to Omdia, Samsung’s foldables held 26% of the market for these devices by the end of the second quarter of 2023, prior to the launch of the new Z Fold 5 and Flip 5.
