[News in Numbers] Samsung Electronics Faces '50,000 Won Electronics' Threat Again After 'Earnings Shock' Q3 Results Announcement

Samsung Electronics' stock price, which hit a 52-week low this month due to sluggish semiconductor business, has fallen back to the 50,000 won range following an 'earnings shock' in the third quarter of this year.

Samsung Electronics announced its preliminary earnings for the third quarter of this year, with sales of 79 trillion won and an operating profit of 9.1 trillion won. Compared to the second quarter, sales increased by 6.66%, but operating profit decreased by 12.84%. The photo shows the Samsung Electronics Seocho Building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 8th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Samsung Electronics announced on the 8th that its sales for the third quarter (July to September) reached 79 trillion won, up about 7% from the previous quarter, but operating profit fell 13% to 9.1 trillion won. This is significantly below market expectations.

Financial information firm FnGuide had forecasted Samsung Electronics' third-quarter sales to be 80.9003 trillion won and operating profit to be 10.7717 trillion won the day before.

Initially, domestic securities firms expected Samsung Electronics' third-quarter operating profit to be around 13 to 14 trillion won. However, due to weak demand for smartphones and PCs causing sluggishness in the semiconductor business segment, and evaluations that visible results have not been achieved even in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), securities firms have sharply lowered their earnings forecasts for Samsung Electronics since last month. Accordingly, Samsung Electronics' operating profit forecast was lowered to the 10 trillion won range, but the actual results failed to meet even this.

In response to the third-quarter earnings shock, Samsung Electronics unusually issued a separate message and apologized. Jeon Young-hyun, Vice Chairman and head of the Device Solutions (DS) division, Samsung Electronics' semiconductor business leader, stated in a message to customers, investors, and employees, "We apologize for causing concerns about the fundamental technological competitiveness and the future of the company due to results that did not meet market expectations." He added, "All responsibility lies with the management leading the business, and the management will take the lead in overcoming the crisis and definitely create an opportunity for a new leap forward."

As a result, Samsung Electronics' stock price fell below the 60,000 won range during trading on the 8th, closing at 59,900 won. After reaching an intraday high of 88,800 won in July, marking the highest price of the year, Samsung Electronics' stock price has been on a downward trend for three consecutive months. Compared to the July peak, it has dropped more than 30%.

On the 7th, a day before the earnings announcement, the stock price fell to 59,500 won, marking the lowest price in the past year.

Since the beginning of this month, Samsung Electronics' stock price has consistently threatened to fall below the 60,000 won range. On the 2nd, it dropped to the 50,000 won range during trading, returning to '50,000 won stock' for the first time in about 1 year and 9 months since January 18 last year (59,900 won). It then seemed to rise back to the 60,000 won range but fell again around the earnings announcement.

On the 8th, Samsung Electronics' stock price closed at 60,300 won.

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