Samsung's chip head apologizes as Q3 earnings miss estimates

Samsung Electronics predicted Tuesday that its operating profit for the July-September period would miss market expectations due to a slow recovery in memory demand and the lackluster performance of High Bandwidth Memory chips used in artificial intelligence computing.

Samsung's third-quarter operating profit is estimated to hit 9.1 trillion won ($6.76 billion), up 274.5 percent from a year ago, according to the company’s earnings guidance. The figure is lower than the 10.77 trillion won consensus by local analysts provided by market intelligence firm FnGuide.

On the other hand, third-quarter sales are estimated to reach a record high of 79 trillion won, up 17.2 percent from a year ago. The figure is an all-time quarterly high in Samsung's history, but below the market consensus of 80.9 trillion won.

While Samsung did not release detailed performances of its key business units for Tuesday’s earnings guidance, market watchers expect its device solutions division, which oversees the chip business, to earn around 5.3 trillion won in operating profit for the third quarter.

“Demand for AI and server memory remains solid, but due to sluggish sales of smartphones and PCs, which account for 40 percent of DRAM demand, memory module makers' inventories have increased to 12 to 16 weeks, leading to a decrease in memory shipments,” said Kim Dong-won, an analyst at KB Securities.

Following the earnings guidance, the tech giant’s chip head apologized on the same day for the company’s performance not meeting market expectations. It marks the first time that Samsung’s leadership has issued a separate statement regarding the performance announcement.

“I apologize for causing concerns about our technological competitiveness and the company’s future,” said Jun Young-hyun, president of the device solutions division. “All responsibility lies with the management leading the business, and we’ll take the lead in overcoming the crisis and creating an opportunity for another leap forward.”

Jun’s message reflects the company's recognition of the heightened sense of crisis and expresses a strong determination to overcome the challenges ahead.

In response, he outlined the measures to overcome the current crisis: restoring the fundamental competitiveness of technology, thorough preparation for the future and innovation in organizational culture and working methods.

"Technology and quality are our lifeblood and the pride of Samsung Electronics, which can never be compromised. … We will secure fundamental competitiveness rather than focus on short-term solutions,” the chip chief said.

“New technology that doesn’t exist in the world and perfect quality competitiveness are the only paths for Samsung Electronics to leap forward again," he added.

The country’s bellwether stock lost nearly 1 percent on Tuesday as investors dumped the company's shares on lower-than-expected guidance. Samsung's shares lost 1.15 percent to close at 60,300 won on the same day.

The world's largest maker of memory chips and smartphones will release a detailed third-quarter earnings report later this month.