CONNECT WITH US
Mar 6, 12:52
Samsung Display's 4Q25 profit soars on BOE's KRW500 billion patent payment
Samsung Display (SDC) reportedly received over KRW500 billion (approx. US$340 million) in patent royalties from leading Chinese panel maker BOE in the fourth quarter of 2025, which would explain how the company's operating profit for the quarter exceeded market expectations by roughly KRW1 trillion.
Facing price competition pressure from China, Taiwan's display panel industry is encountering growing operational challenges. However, the surge in AI chip demand for advanced packaging has opened a transformation opportunity based on existing panel technology foundations.
Apple has launched an updated Studio Display and an all-new Studio Display XDR, expanding its external monitor lineup with higher brightness, faster refresh rates, and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity. The new models target users ranging from everyday Mac customers to professional creators and medical specialists.
The global flat-panel TV market continues to see shifting sales shares, with Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics maintaining overall leadership. However, Chinese brands like TCL and Hisense are rapidly closing the gap, breaking into the top five TV sellers worldwide.
Backlight module supplier Radiant Optoelectronics has invested over NT$10 billion (US$318.16 million) in acquisitions under company chairman Yu-Chao Wang's leadership while advancing three new business lines targeting future growth. Despite a 40% profit decline in 2025, the company remains committed to innovation and expects to ramp up new ventures through 2027 toward significant revenue contributions by 2028.
Daxin Materials achieved strong gains in semiconductor materials in 2025, expanding its product lineup to 12 items. The company plans to introduce three to five new products in 2026, aiming for high double-digit growth in semiconductor material sales. Meanwhile, sales from display materials are expected to remain flat in 2026, while key raw materials could see annual revenue growth surpassing 30%.
Affected by a downturn in its display materials business and the appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar against the US dollar, BenQ Materials fell into losses in 2025. Its medical business, impacted by exchange rate fluctuations, grew only 5%. Chairman Z.C. Chen said that demand across all medical product lines is currently solid, and the company expects to return to double-digit growth in 2026.
China's leading panel maker BOE Technology Group has expressed cautious optimism about the LCD TV panel market in the first half of 2026, announcing accelerated progress on AMOLED and advanced packaging projects, according to Chinese media outlets Sina Finance and Jiwei.com.
Several major Japanese electronics firms are scaling back or ending their television businesses in 2025 and 2026, handing market share and operations to Chinese counterparts amid intense global competition and shrinking profit margins.
Taiwan's Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd. and South Korea's Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd. have escalated their long-running legal battle, filing fresh patent litigation in the US even as a South Korean Supreme Court ruling has handed Seoul Semiconductor a major criminal-law victory.
LG Display (LGD) announced that it has utilized Nvidia's physics artificial intelligence (AI) modeling platform PhysicsNeMo to develop a digital twin panel tool (DPS). At present, LGD is the only company in South Korea to have applied PhysicsNeMo in actual display production.

Rising DRAM and CPU prices are feeding through the display supply chain, with AUO estimating that end-product prices could increase by 10% to 30%. While LCD panel prices have firmed on tighter supply, upstream semiconductor cost inflation is reducing demand visibility for consumer electronics in 2026.