Samsung's Q4 earnings show signs of 2024 recovery as its chip side loses big
What you need to know
Samsung has posted its Q4 2023 earnings report, which shows a slight increase in profits over its Q3 performance.
The company still posted a "weak" semiconductor business performance that Samsung attributes to a "delayed economic recovery."
Samsung's smartphone side performed decently, but the company will look to continue an upward trend off the back of its Galaxy S24 series with Galaxy AI.
Samsung has posted its Q4 2023 earnings report and overall performance for the previous year. Samsung ended with 67.78 trillion Korean won (KRW) in consolidated revenue and 2.82 trillion KRW in operating profits on December 31. For the 2023 fiscal year, the Korean OEM reports 258.94 trillion KRW in annual revenue and 6.57 trillion in operating profits.
According to CNBC, Samsung's Q4 report shows a 34.57% drop in revenue compared to its performance in 2022. The company's results have also underperformed as analysts reportedly expected slightly higher numbers to close out 2023.
Compared to Samsung's performance in 2022, the company still fell behind by 3.8%.
For Q4, Samsung's semiconductor business reported 21.69 trillion KRW in consolidated revenue and 2.18 trillion in operating losses. The company stated that its "weak performance" was "due to a decrease in market demand caused by inventory adjustments at customers and delayed economic recovery."
Reuters reports that Samsung's semiconductor business lost around 14.9 trillion won, which is a sour taste after achieving a 23.8 trillion profit for 2022. Moving into Q1 2024, Samsung expects its semiconductor business to recover as PC and mobile demands trend upward.
The company's MX division reported 25.04 trillion KRW in consolidated revenue and 2.73 trillion KRW in operating profits. Samsung stated consumer demand for smartphones "increased slightly," which was likely because of its "premium segment." Its MX business is expected to utilize the launch of the Galaxy S24 and its new "Galaxy AI" to increase its sales of flagship devices further.
Samsung is hopeful that the smartphone market will continue to climb in 2024 as consumers experience stability in the economy.
Samsung's Q4 beat its Q3 earnings by a small margin, and that includes the latter's major losses. The Korean OEM struggled with its semiconductor business but analysts theorized that the bleeding was easing, meaning Samsung could begin to regain ground in 2024. It'll also be worth seeing if the Galaxy S24 series impacts the company's Q1 report in a few months.
