LG Display is under close observation to see if it can successfully improve its structure starting this year, thereby ending years of stagnation. Notably, last year marked the first time in the company's history that organic light-emitting diode (OLED) sales surpassed liquid crystal display (LCD) sales, indicating a structural improvement centered around OLED.
Some in the securities industry expect a return to profit in the first quarter this year due to a sharp increase in the high exchange rate and OLED sales. There are analyses suggesting that demand from client companies for securing panel inventory in advance of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration caused a surge in the first quarter, but there are also predictions that Samsung Electronics, the leading company in the TV market, will increase its supply of large OLED panels in the second quarter.
According to the industry on the 21st, the proportion of OLED (large and small combined) in LG Display's revenue last year was about 55%, an increase of over 7 percentage points from the previous year. On an annual basis, LG Display's OLED revenue proportion reached an all-time high.
The consensus on first-quarter performance in the securities market is also optimistic. According to financial information firm FnGuide, the consensus for LG Display's performance in the first quarter this year (average forecast in the securities market) is 6.1455 trillion won in revenue and an operating loss of 890 billion won. Compared to the same period last year, revenue is expected to increase by 17% and the loss to shrink by 81%. Most of the recent forecasts released in the past two to three weeks predict a return to profit, indicating a rising expectation for operating profit.
Nam Gung-hyun, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., noted, "The spillover effect from the North American client's new product launch and the increase in legacy-oriented panels are expected to lead to an increase in mobile sales, helping to defend against the seasonal off-peak period," adding that "the IT and TV sectors appear to reflect customer pre-orders and a favorable exchange rate environment due to concerns over price increases from U.S. tariffs."
Kim Un-ho, an analyst at IBK Securities, predicted, "A profit is possible in the first quarter due to the effect of the won-dollar exchange rate." If LG Display posts a profit in the first quarter, it will achieve consecutive quarters of profitability following the fourth quarter of last year. However, it cannot be ruled out that there is a possibility of turning to a loss in the second quarter due to demand contraction caused by the Trump tariffs.
As the demand for IT OLED panels for smartphones, laptops, and monitors continues to grow, Samsung Electronics, a major player in the TV industry, is also expected to expand its purchase of large OLED panels. Samsung Electronics plans to promote OLED TVs instead of QLEDs in its main TV lineup this year, indicating a strategy focused on volume expansion.
A source familiar with Samsung Electronics stated, "Samsung Electronics has set a sales target of 2.5 million to 3 million OLED TVs for this year," adding, "This represents a figure that is twice as much as last year and is expected to order most of the panel volume from LG Display." LG Display supplies over 80% of global OLED panels for TVs, effectively dominating the premium segment.
Meanwhile, LG Display aims to solidify its dominance in the large OLED market with the newly launched fourth-generation OLED TV panels this year. The fourth-generation OLED panels achieve the industry's highest brightness level at 4,000 nits. They have been praised for significantly improving energy efficiency, optimized for power-hungry artificial intelligence (AI) features.