Samsung Electronics is now one of the world’s worst-performing major tech stocks of 2018, dropping over 11% with $39.4B wiped off of its value, according to CNBC.
So what gives?
We got ourselves a full market
Samsung’s Q2 earnings showed the slowest quarterly growth in more than a year, with mobile revenue down 22% year-over-year.
The firm is reportedly betting on the recently released $1k Note 9 to revive sales, but global smartphone shipments declined 1.8% in Q2, and, unfortunately, as the handset market decreases, the competition continues to increase…
For the first time, Huawei surpassed Apple as the 2nd-largest smartphone pusher as it sets its sights on Samsung, who is currently at the top with 71.5m devices shipped this quarter (still a 10.4% annual decline).
In other saturation news…
Memory chips are becoming a dime a dozen.
Samsung’s semiconductors have been the tech giant’s white knight, accounting for 37% of sales and 78% of profits in Q2.
But, as other semiconductor makers enter the market, analysts fear it will be harder for Samsung to charge the same premium for their products.
For now, the company will keep riding on a chip and a prayer, assuring investors that market conditions for its memory chips will remain “solid” for at least the rest of the year.
