In short: Samsung Electronics is believed to have reached its absolute profit peak over the course of this year’s third quarter, with industry analysts estimating the firm’s bottom line will be some $15.5 billion in the black for the observed period. The technology giant’s revenue should also return to growth and amount to over $54 billion. As was the case with the company’s last seven quarterly reports, rising chip prices and massive silicon demand will once again likely to be the main factor affecting its growth, though that golden age is now believed to be coming to a close. The demand for NAND storage chips already started declining this summer and DRAM performance modules are likely to follow suit in the final quarter of the year, most industry analysts agree.
Background: Samsung’s chipmaking arm has been largely responsible for the company’s unprecedented growth since early last year, with the Seoul-based firm ultimately even surpassing Intel and taking its title of the world’s largest chip manufacturer, breaking almost two an a half decades of its dominance. The strong performance in the field also allowed the South Korean electronics juggernaut to offset some of the other disappointments it faced in recent times, the latest one of which came in the form of underwhelming Galaxy S9 sales. While the company’s Android flagship duo remains one of the most popular handset lineups of the year, the company itself admitted its sales were weaker than expected as part of its second-quarter report that revealed a revenue drop but a significant profitability increase.
Impact: Samsung’s stock has been declining since last Thursday and with its third-quarter financials being scheduled to be released after the market closes on Friday, it’s unlikely its market cap will be significantly higher than it is today until next year. On the other hand, the current stock price already accounts for a chip demand drop, as well as the record profit forecast, so coupled with some investors’ repeated insistence that the firm’s stock remains undervalued, now would be as good of a time to invest in Samsung as any.