Samsung Electronics has become the first South Korean company to clear KRW100 trillion in operating profit in a single quarter, a milestone that shows how heavily the company now leans on a memory market where, by analysts' reckoning, suppliers hold pricing power. The open questions are whether high-bandwidth memory (HBM) contracts can extend that run into 2027, and how long the company's consumer-device arm can absorb the rising component costs that the same boom creates.
Laster said shortages of key components have delayed automotive order shipments, underscoring how global demand for AI-related parts is rippling into other industries. The impact trimmed revenue in September and the third quarter, but the company said long-term order visibility remains intact, with overseas expansion and new product demand still supporting growth.
Major monitor brands including AOC and Philips have raised end-product prices in recent months, affecting office, home, and gaming lines, as price-increase notices from China's three biggest panel makers — BOE Technology Group (BOE), TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology, and HKC — signal a tightening link between retail pricing and panel costs.
Samsung Display (SDC) and LG Display (LGD) are calling on the South Korean government to strengthen tax incentives for OLED investment and research as intensifying competition from Chinese panel makers raises pressure to maintain technological leadership and upgrade production capacity.
As smart glasses draw growing market attention, Chinese suppliers including BOE, SeeYA Technology and Sidtek are expanding Micro OLED production. Display industry sources caution, however, that demand for the panels remains uncertain and that capacity coming online ahead of proven demand could leave the market oversupplied.
AI is driving the semiconductor industry into a new growth cycle while creating opportunities for display companies traditionally centered on panels to move into semiconductors. These companies are extending their reach into emerging areas such as advanced packaging and optical communications, seeking to leverage core technologies such as glass substrates and Micro LED.
A global memory shortage linked to rising AI infrastructure spending has upended TV manufacturing economics, with semiconductor costs now overtaking display panels in some models. The shift, reported by ET News, could squeeze profitability at major TV makers including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.
Garmin's decision to offer OLED options but no Micro LED version in its new flagship smartwatches, the fenix 9 and fenix 9 Pro, has revived debate over whether the emerging display technology is ready for sustained commercial competition. The shift comes about a year after Garmin launched the world's first Micro LED smartwatch, the fenix 8 Pro Micro LED in September 2025.
Micro LED has reached mass production in several end-market applications in recent years, but it is still facing intense competition from OLED. Garmin's new fenix 9 smartwatch has returned to an OLED panel, instead of using Micro LED display technology.
China's BOE is supplying the panel for LG Electronics' 27-inch UltraGear evo 27GM950B, putting the display maker's technology in one of LG's premium gaming monitors as BOE expands its push into higher-resolution and ultra-high-refresh-rate displays.
Bright LED Electronics said its core profit rebounded in the first half of 2026, helped by recovering printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) demand and a better product mix. The LED packaging maker expects second-half performance to be roughly in line with the first half, while seeing growth momentum extend into 2027.
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