Lower prices for memory and slower iPhone sales took their toll.
Samsung just released guidance for its Q1 2019 earnings report, and estimates an operating profit of 6.2 trillion won (about $5.5 billion), which is less than half of the $14.4 billion profit it recorded in the same period last year. Samsung had issued an unprecedented warning for investors of bad news on the way, citing declines in prices for memory chips, and lower demand for screens like the OLED display it makes for Apple’s iPhone.
We’ll have to wait a few more weeks for a detailed breakdown and final numbers, but in its last earnings report Samsung noted how it hoped the Galaxy S10 series would help turn things around. The prediction for overall revenue dropped by only fourteen percent, to 52 trillion won. The last time Samsung saw a drop of this magnitude, we were looking forward to the Galaxy Note 4 and 4K TVs. Now the company hopes investments in data centers will drive more demand for memory, and that the high-priced Galaxy Fold can drive profits by enticing competitors to use its flexible display tech for their own devices.
