Despite Samsung Electronics achieving its second-highest annual sales figure ever in 2024, reaching 300 trillion won, it still fell short of SK Hynix in semiconductor operating profit.

Samsung Electronics announced its fourth quarter 2024 business results on the 31st.

According to this, the annual business performance in 2024, based on consolidated financial statements, recorded sales of KRW 300.8709 trillion, a 16.2% increase year-on-year, and operating profit of KRW 32.726 trillion, a 398.3% increase year-on-year. Net income reached KRW 34.4514 trillion, a 122.5% increase over the previous year.

The DS division (formerly semiconductor), which attracted attention, recorded sales of KRW 111.1 trillion and operating profit of KRW 15.1 trillion.

Compared to SK Hynix, which is continuing to compete with high value-added semiconductors and others, which recorded sales of KRW 66.193 trillion and operating profit of KRW 23.4673 trillion in 2024, Samsung Electronics' semiconductor business performance in 2024 is analyzed to have recorded lower operating profit despite high sales, and to have shown sluggish performance trends in high value-added semiconductors such as HBM.

According to consolidated financial statements, the fourth quarter of 2024 saw sales of KRW 75.7883 trillion, an 11.8% increase year-on-year, and operating profit of KRW 6.4927 trillion, a 129.9% increase year-on-year. Net income increased 22.2% year-on-year to KRW 7.7544 trillion.

The DS (Device Solutions) division posted sales of KRW 30.1 trillion and operating profit of KRW 2.9 trillion in the fourth quarter, a 3% increase from the previous quarter due to increased sales of high-value-added memory products for servers.

The DX (Device eXperience) division recorded sales of KRW 40.5 trillion and operating profit of KRW 2.3 trillion, a 10% decrease from the previous quarter due to a decrease in the effect of the launch of new smartphone models.

Harman recorded sales of KRW 3.9 trillion and operating profit of KRW 400 billion in the fourth quarter, while SDC recorded sales of KRW 8.1 trillion and operating profit of KRW 900 billion in the fourth quarter.

Facility investment in the fourth quarter amounted to KRW 17.8 trillion, an increase of KRW 5.4 trillion from the previous quarter. By business, DS investment amounted to KRW 16 trillion and Display investment to KRW 1 trillion.

The annual facility investment amount is the highest ever at 53.6 trillion won, with 46.3 trillion won invested in DS and 4.8 trillion won in displays.

Memory investments increased both quarterly and year-over-year, driven by continued investment in R&D to secure future technology leadership and expanding production capacity for advanced processes such as HBM.

Foundries saw their annual investment decrease compared to the previous year due to worsening market conditions.

Displays continued to invest to secure a competitive edge, focusing on small and medium-sized displays, and the annual investment scale increased compared to the previous year.

In 2025, we plan to strengthen technological and product competitiveness in the AI field, respond to demand for high value-added products, and expand sales of premium products.

The DS division is expected to continue its weakness in the first half of the year, but plans to strengthen its mid- to long-term competitiveness and build a portfolio of high-capacity, high-spec products.

MXWith the launch of the Galaxy S25 series, the company plans to solidify its mobile AI leadership with a differentiated AI experience, and expand sales by optimizing the AI experience of the S25 and strengthening the lineup with the foldable phone.