Samsung, announcing its financial result for Q3 2024, has revealed its main achievements and focus areas in AI (artificial intelligence) business.
Samsung has posted KRW 79.1 trillion in revenue in the third-quarter of 2024, an increase of 7 percent from the previous quarter.
Lost momentum in AI
Samsung aims to enhance its competitiveness in advanced technologies and strengthen its leadership in premium products and AI capabilities.
Samsung plans to address demand for differentiated high-value products, including HBM and server SSDs, while leveraging the 2 nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process for new client acquisition.
SmartThings Platform has 360 million users. Samsung intends to tailor its AI technology across diverse products, enhancing product intelligence, spatial intelligence, and personalization for a smarter home.
The company will prioritize product security, connectivity, energy efficiency, and user health and well-being through intelligent AI technologies.
The DS Division reported significant revenue growth in Q3 2023, driven by strong demand for AI and conventional servers, although mobile demand faced challenges due to inventory adjustments.
Samsung anticipates sustained strong investments in datacenter and enterprise solutions linked to AI, including robust demand for both AI and conventional servers.
Samsung plans to capitalize on opportunities in areas such as System on Chips (SoCs) and camera technologies, focusing on advancing on-device AI capabilities.
SDC will maintain leadership in foldable and high-end smartphones, optimizing OLED technologies for AI devices and expanding its IT and automotive product lines.
Samsung, as part of MX Business Strategy, aims for double-digit annual sales growth for flagship AI smartphones (like foldables and the S24 series), with a strong push for tablets and wearables, especially during the holiday season.
The Visual Display Business will continue to innovate by enhancing AI functionalities in premium and lifestyle screens, improving core TV features like picture and sound quality within the SmartThings ecosystem.
Samsung reported a third-quarter operating profit of 9.2 trillion won ($6.66 billion), up from 2.4 trillion won a year ago but down from 10.4 trillion won in the previous quarter.
Samsung anticipates limited earnings growth in Q4, with weak demand in its smartphone, TV, and appliance divisions expected to offset any gains in the chip division.
While AI is a growth area in the chip industry, Samsung has struggled to meet demand for advanced AI chips, limiting its ability to benefit from the AI boom that has bolstered rivals like TSMC and SK Hynix, Reuters news report said.
The chip division posted an operating profit of 3.9 trillion won, a significant improvement from a loss of 3.8 trillion won a year ago but down from 6.45 trillion won in Q2, impacted by one-off costs like employee incentives and currency effects.
Samsung’s foundry business, which produces logic chips, faces widening losses and has postponed equipment deliveries for its Texas factory due to a lack of major customers.
Samsung’s mobile devices segment saw operating profit decline to 2.8 trillion won, down from 3.3 trillion won a year earlier, reflecting challenges in the competitive smartphone market.
Samsung has faced challenges keeping pace with rivals like TSMC and SK Hynix, which have capitalized on strong AI chip sales, notably to Nvidia, during the same period.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
