Samsung has shared its second quarter financials for 2025. Unfortunately for the company, its operating profit plummeted to KRW 4.7 trillion, a sharp decline from KRW 10.4 trillion in 2Q24 and KRW 6.7 trillion in 1Q25. The Korean smartphone giant also recorded a significant drop of net profit to KRW 5.1 trillion in the second quarter, down from KRW 9.8 trillion in 2024 and KRW 8.2 trillion in the first quarter. Finally, overall revenue for the second quarter was KRW 74.5 trillion, a decrease from KRW 79.1 trillion in the first quarter.
These figures are based on the consolidated financial statements that have been shared before the external review is completed, so some parts could change once it’s done. The worsening of performance doesn’t seem to be a Samsung issue, but rather a wider industry issue as Intel and LG Electronics have also seen poorer results in the second quarter.
The Device Solutions (DS) division, which includes Memory and System LSI/Foundry, saw a big fall in operating profits to KRW 0.4 trillion in 2Q25 from KRW 6.5 trillion in 2Q24 and KRW 1.1 trillion in 1Q25. Despite an 11% increase in sales quarter-over-quarter for the Device Solutions division, profits were severely affected by one-off costs such as inventory value adjustments.
The company said that its Foundry earnings were weak due to inventory value adjustments arising from US export restrictions on advanced AI chips to China and prolonged low utilization at mature nodes.
Samsung’s Mobile eXperience (MX/NW) division maintained double-digit profitability and grew both its revenue and operating profit year-over-year. The Samsung Display Corporation (SDC) saw revenue increase from new smartphone models and growth in IT/Auto segments, and Harman also improved profitability with increased audio sales and cost optimizations.
On the flipside, smartphone shipments fell compared to the first quarter when new models were released. However, good sales of the S25 series, A series, and tablets contributed to year-over-year growth. The Visual Display (VD) division saw earnings decline due to intensified competition despite improved premium sales mix.
Going forward, Samsung wants to focus on improving Exynos competitiveness for its 2026 flagship lineup and expand sales of advanced sensors. It also said that its Foundry business will ramp up mass production of a new mobile System-on-Chip (SoC) with the GAA 2nm processor and improve factory utilization.
The Mobile eXperience division is also looking to achieve solid profitability by reinforcing AI In tablets and wearables. It’s also planning to launch new form-factor products like XR and TriFold.
With US trade tariffs not expected to go anywhere in the near future, Samsung has acknowledged that its Harman and Visual Display/Digital Appliances divisions will be under added pressure but plans to mitigate the impact through its global manufacturing footprint.
Source: Samsung | Image via Depositphotos.com