Samsung’s smartphone business is expected to receive a significant boost with the recent arrival of theGalaxy Z Fold 5and theGalaxy Z Flip 5. However, the manufacturer will also have to deal with the upcoming lineup of Apple iPhone 15 models, rumored to pick up a bevy of new upgrades, especially in the camera department. The manufacturer has now published its quarterly financial report for the second quarter of 2023, showing operating profits dropping by 95% year-over-year, mostly due to weakened demand for chips.
The companyreportedconsolidated revenues of 60.01 trillion South Korean won (~$47.21 billion), which it points out is a 6% reduction from Q1 2023. Notably, this is marginally higher than the company’s forecast earlier this month, which predicted 60 trillion won in revenues.
Alarmingly, the electronics giant’s operating profits shrunk significantly compared to the same period last year, when the companyreported14.1 trillion won. By comparison, the operating profit for Q2 2023 is 0.67 trillion won, as CNBCnotes. The figures look less worrying when we consider the numbers from the first quarter of 2023 when thecompany forecastedand later reported the worst quarterly figures since Q1 2009.
Samsung is optimistic about the future of its chip business, though, expecting the global demand to pick up in the second half of the year, but with a caveat that “continued macroeconomic risks” could be a hurdle in the said recovery. The outlook for the company’s Device Solutions (DS) division is also decent, with Samsung saying it will continue to push the sales of DDR5, LPDDR5x, and HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) units.
Samsung said it would further increase spending on R&D, packaging technology, as well as infrastructure. While there was some hope that the recent boom in AI would drive the sales of Samsung’s wide array of modules and chips, the manufacturer said a bulk of the investment in the data center business went towards AI-specific servers.
Another interesting tidbit from the financial earnings report is the mention of diminished demand for its own flagship phone, theGalaxy S23. The momentum from the Galaxy S23’s initial few weeks in the market “faded” this quarter, Samsung said. This likely has something to do with the market’s expectation for the brand’s new series of high-end foldables that made theirdebut last week. But Samsung said the early 2023 flagship outperformed the Galaxy S22 in terms of value and number of units sold in the first half of the year.
In general, Samsung blamed factors such as high-interest rates and inflation for decreased demand from Q1 2023, a phenomenon witnessed across the industry. However, the second half of 2023 could see a rebounding of the premium smartphone business, even potentially marking a return to year-on-year growth, per the company.
It goes without saying that Samsung has high hopes for theGalaxy Z Fold 5and theZ Flip 5, with both currently up for preorder around the globe. The company would hope for a better showing in Q3 2023 based on these new premium smartphone releases, though Samsung will have to contend with the aforementioned Apple iPhone 15 release in September, plus theGoogle Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, likely to break cover by early October.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
The Z Fold 5 is here, and it’s nothing short of splendid! While it doesn’t particularly blow us away with what it offers, we surely appreciate the subtle improvements it sports over its already-decent predecessor, the Z Fold 4. Even though we didn’t get to see some of the changes we’d hoped for — such as improved battery life — the disappointment was compensated by a powerful chipset, an aesthetically pleasing hinge, and an upgraded camera setup.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 features a 3.4-inch external display, making it ideal for social media scrolling or text responses without opening the device. In addition, Samsung has redesigned the hinge on the Flip 5, allowing it to close flat for the first time on the Flip series.
