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LG, Samsung show resilience and growth in global OLED market

Published: 31 Oct. 2025, 15:39

LG Display's fourth-generation OLED displays [LG DISPLAY]

Despite fierce competition from China, Korea’s display industry has been able to maintain its strong competitive edge in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology.

LG Display is on the verge of escaping the red side of the financial ledger for the first time in four years, while Samsung Display is expanding its lead through next-generation production lines and advancements in foldable display technology.

On Thursday, LG Display reported third-quarter sales of 6.957 trillion won ($4.89 billion) and an operating profit of 431 billion won. This figure marks a dramatic turnaround from its operating loss of 80.6 billion won over the same period last year.

LG Display's cumulative operating profit for the third quarter stands at 348.5 billion won, signaling a likely end to the company’s streak of annual losses that began in 2021 and a return to profitability.

OLED has led the recovery. OLED products accounted for 65 percent of total sales in the third quarter, the highest share ever.

“Our strategy of restructuring our business around OLED and innovating cost efficiency is now delivering tangible results,” said Kim Sung-hyun, chief financial officer (CFO) at LG Display, during an earnings call. “We will continue to strengthen our profit structure and expand our business performance.”

On the same day, Samsung Display reported third-quarter sales of 8.1 trillion won and an operating profit of 1.2 trillion won. Although this marks a decline of approximately 300 billion won from the same period last year, both revenue and profit increased significantly compared to the previous quarter — by 27 percent and 140 percent, respectively.

“Sales increased thanks to steady demand for flagship smartphones and the release of new models,” said Park Jun-young, executive vice president of Samsung Display. “We plan to solidify our leadership in OLED for IT devices by producing competitive products at the new 8.6-generation OLED line, which will begin mass production next year.”

Samsung Display's booth at a display exhibition is seen on May 20. [SAMSUNG DISPLAY]

The new 8.6-generation line uses glass substrates with more than twice the surface area of existing sixth-generation substrates, improving cost competitiveness.

Apple’s expected expansion of OLED adoption is also projected to benefit the Korean display industry. Apple is reviewing the use of OLEDs not only in iPhones but also across its next-generation MacBook and iPad lineups, according to Bloomberg.

Korean firms currently dominate Apple’s OLED supply chain, while Chinese companies have struggled to enter due to technological limitations.

For this year’s iPhone 17 series, Samsung Display supplied 64.5 percent of the OLED panels, while LG Display provided 34.1 percent, according to market research firm UBI Research. China’s BOE accounted for only 1.4 percent.

However, Chinese companies are moving to build 8.6-generation production lines of their own with new technologies such as ink-jet printing, and a growing premium LCD market — particularly for RGB LED TVs — could reduce demand for large-size OLED panels, presenting a potential variable.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE GA-RAM [[email protected]]