Samsung Q4 Profit Outlook Misses Estimates By 29%

Samsung Electronics announced a fourth-quarter operating profit estimate that fell significantly short of analyst expectations.

The figures are significantly below the 7.7 trillion won SmartEstimate from LSEG analysts. I Photo: Samsung

The company has struggled to keep pace with rival SK Hynix in supplying high-end chips to Nvidia, Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee reported for Reuters.

Samsung attributed its weaker-than-expected earnings to increased research and development expenses, the ramp-up of manufacturing capacity for advanced chips, and a slowdown in demand for conventional memory chips used in PCs and mobile devices.

Despite earlier commitments, Samsung did not provide an update on its progress in supplying high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips—crucial for artificial intelligence applications—to Nvidia.

The company estimated an operating profit of 6.5 trillion won ($4.47 billion) for the three months ending December 31.

This was significantly below the 7.7 trillion won SmartEstimate from LSEG analysts. While the estimate marks a 131% increase from the same period a year earlier, it represents a 29% decline from the previous quarter.

Samsung's disappointing third-quarter results prompted the company to issue a rare apology to investors in October, during which it assured progress in HBM chip production for Nvidia. However, delays have persisted, further weighing on its performance.