Samsung released a dismal preliminary earnings report Thursday night, which market-watchers are blaming on both U.S.-China trade tensions and internal missteps.
The South Korean company reports that profits are likely down more than half of what they were at the same time last year, with an anticipated operating profit now ranging between 6.4 and 6.6 trillion KRW ($5.5 to 5.6 billion USD).
While the Trump administration’s effective ban on telecom giant Huawei left the company’s chip supply business struggling, Samsung is also wrestling with issues in its smartphone division.
The rollout of the Galaxy Fold, the new smartphone in its flagship line, was less than stellar. After reviewers reported severe flaws with the near-$2,000 device, Samsung was forced to redesign the phone and delay its launch.
"That was expensive to innovate, and it didn’t work," John Jannarone, the editor-in-chief of IPO Edge, told Cheddar.
While the company has diversified across a wide range of electronic devices and hardware, Jannarone says he has particular concerns about Samsung’s deep investments in smartphones. "Unless you're Apple, these phones are all basically interchangeable. There’s a huge glut of supply."
One bright spot in Samsung’s mobile business is that Huawei’s exclusion from the American mobile phone market could make more room for Samsung’s products.
More welcome news in early reports is an $800 million reimbursement from Apple ($AAPL), after the Cupertino-based tech giant missed previously agreed-upon sales target, according to analysts that spoke to Reuters.
In the immediate fallout from the report, Samsung share prices were trading down nearly a percent on the Korea Futures Exchange.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
