Three weeks after revealing its earnings guidance, Samsung Electronics revealed its full earnings data for Q3 2023. The South Korean firm's revenue was KRW 67.4 trillion (around $49.86 billion) during the July-August period, and its operating profit was KRW 2.43 trillion (around $1.79 billion). That's the highest quarterly profit the company achieved this year, and that's due to impressive sales of its OLED display panels and high-end smartphones.
Samsung's revenue and profit improved significantly in Q3 2022
Samsung Electronics' revenue in Q3 2023 was 12% lower than Q3 2022, while its operating profit was 77% lower than the same period last year. However, it was the company's best showing this year and a lot better than Q2 2023. It credited these improved figures to strong sales of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which were launched in August, and mobile OLED panels (mostly for Apple's iPhone 15 lineup).
Since the second half of last year, the company's revenue and profits have been severely hit due to weak demand for semiconductor chips, home appliances, and TVs, as the global economic downturn is stopping people from spending more. The company posted its first loss in the entire history of its semiconductor chip division and its lowest profit in the last 14 years.
The Device Solutions Business from Samsung Electronics recorded KRW 3.75 trillion ($2.77 billion) in operating loss, but it is an improvement compared to the KRW 4.36 trillion ($3.22 billion) loss the division posted last quarter. Prices of DRAM and NAND flash chips have started increasing, which means good times are ahead for the company. If you didn't know already, most of Samsung's revenue comes from sales of DRAM and NAND flash chips.
This story continues after our Galaxy Z Fold 5 hands-on video.
Samsung MX, the company's division that makes mobile devices, recorded slightly improved revenue despite the ongoing global economic downturn. The company focused on sales of its high-end devices, like the Galaxy S23, Galaxy Z Flip 5, and Galaxy Z Fold 5, to improve its profitability. Samsung Networks, which sells telecommunication infrastructure equipment, also did well, and combined with Samsung MX, it generated an operating profit of KRW 3.3 trillion ($2.44 billion). That's a slight increase compared to numbers (KRW 3.2 trillion) from Q2 2023.
Samsung Display, which sells OLED panels for smartphones and TVs, returned bumper profits in Q3 2023. It sold millions of industry-leading OLED panels for the iPhone 15 series and generated an operating profit of KRW 1.94 trillion ($1.43 billion). That's the second-best quarterly figures for the division in the past three years.
Good times are ahead for Samsung
As the sales of smartphones and semiconductor chips are estimated to improve in the coming quarters, Samsung will likely report higher revenue and profit. Samsung Foundry, which is a contract chip manufacturer, has started getting more clients, and that would add to the company's revenue in the coming months. However, Samsung said some challenging macroeconomic conditions could persist in the near future.
Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy S24 in Q1 2024 and its first mixed-reality headset sometime next year. With the company dual-sourcing processors for the Galaxy S24 (Exynos 2400 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3), its profitability could improve next year. The South Korean firm also said it will soon launch its first laptop based on the Snapdragon X Elite chip that was unveiled last week.
