[Click eStock] "Samsung Electronics, Smartphone Profitability Expected to Decline This Year"

On the 24th, BNK Investment & Securities evaluated Samsung Electronics as being relatively excluded from this year's sluggish end demand and the AI special demand trend.

Researcher Minhee Lee of BNK Investment & Securities stated, "We are raising this year's sales forecast by 3% to 73.5 trillion KRW and operating profit by 8% to 8.4 trillion KRW."

The upward revision of earnings estimates reflects a higher increase in memory prices in semiconductors. Samsung Display (SDC) is expected to have higher-than-anticipated sales due to iPad production, market share increase, and exchange rate gains. However, SDC's profitability is expected to decline compared to the previous year.

Researcher Lee analyzed, "In the case of SDC, the sales proportion increased mainly in low-profit rigid displays, and smartphone profitability is expected to decline due to rising cost ratios caused by semiconductor price increases."

However, memory prices in the second half of the year remain uncertain. Researcher Lee said, "Considering the worsening consumer economy, already high inventory levels at client companies, and spot prices having peaked, there seems to be little room for further memory price increases in the second half."

Therefore, the expansion of Samsung Electronics' AI orders is seen as crucial. This is because the special demand for related high-capacity memory is expected to continue due to the AI server infrastructure investment boom. Researcher Lee diagnosed, "For Samsung Electronics, when it can fully increase sales of HBM3E and 128GB high-capacity DRAM, and whether it can secure AI chip orders currently monopolized by TSMC, will be key to escaping undervaluation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.