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general view of visitors are seen at Samsung booth during the chinajoy 2023 at Shanghai new expo center in Shanghai, China on July 28, 2023 (Photo by Ying Tang/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics reported Tuesday quarterly operating profit that was better than expected despite dropping 77.6% from a year ago.

While it was a decline year-on-year, third quarter operating profit jumped 262.6% from the second quarter, signaling that a memory chip glut may be bottoming out. First quarter operating profit plummeted 85.15% from the fourth quarter of 2022, while second-quarter operating profit saw only 4.68% improvement from the first quarter.

Here are Samsung’s third-quarter results versus estimates:

  • Revenue: 67.4 trillion Korean won (about $50 billion), vs. 67.8 trillion Korean won expected by analysts polled by LSEG.
  • Operating profit: 2.43 trillion Korean won, vs. 2.3 trillion Korean won expected by LSEG analysts.

Samsung’s revenue for the quarter ending September fell 12.2% from a year ago, while operating profit dropped 77.6% in the same period.

Earlier this month, Samsung estimated third-quarter revenue would be 67 trillion Korean won and operating profit to be 2.4 trillion won.

The South Korean chip giant is the largest dynamic random-access memory chip maker in the world. Its memory chips are found in consumer devices such as smartphones and computers.

“In the fourth quarter, uncertainties persist regarding the market’s recovery driven by wars and geopolitical risks, gradual demand rebound and ongoing customer inventory adjustments,” said Samsung during its earnings call on Tuesday.

“Nevertheless, we’re observing initial indications of demand, gradually stabilizing and improving, supported by recovering consumer sentiment, easing inflation and major customers introducing new products, particularly in the PC and mobile segments,” Samsung said.

On the outlook for memory demand, Samsung said it expects fourth quarter demand to pick up with year-end promotions, new product launches by its major customers as well as strong demand for generative AI.

Large language models such as ChatGPT require a lot of high-performance memory chips, which enable such generative AI models to remember details from past conversations and user preferences in order to generate humanlike responses.

In a press release ahead of its earnings call, Samsung said that it “received numerous purchase inquiries amid widening awareness of the industry reaching a bottom, following the industry-wide production cuts.” It added that it continued to expand sales of advanced-node products.

These advanced-node products include DDR5 — double data rate 5 synchronous dynamic random-access memory, and UFS4.0 — flash storage for the 5G era.

“Our view on a meaningful profit recovery for the next several quarters led by memory is intact, with the larger industry-wide production cuts, gradually improving demand trends, as well as mix improvement towards high-average selling price products such as DDR5,” said Goldman Sachs in an Oct. 12 report.

The investment firm maintained a “buy” rating with an unchanged target price of 93,000 won. Samsung shares were down 0.30% at 67,100 won on Tuesday morning.

Signs of recovery

Global smartphone sell-through volumes fell 8% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2023, the ninth consecutive quarter to record a decline, according to Counterpoint Research. This was largely because of the slower-than-expected recovery in consumer demand.

Smartphone and PC maker were grappling with excess inventories of memory chips after stockpiling to meet increased demand for consumer devices during the pandemic. Inflation has caused consumers to rein in spending and cut back on purchases of consumer devices, driving down demand and prices for memory chips.

Micron is building the biggest-ever U.S. chip fab, despite China ban

But the market grew 2% quarter-over-quarter bolstered by a positive performance in September, signaling a market recovery ahead.

“We expect earnings to rebound from 4Q23, given further product mix improvement on expanding sales of high-bandwidth memory 3 and a memory price hike,” said SK Kim, analyst at Daiwa Capital Markets, in an Oct. 3 note.

“For memory, we assume a meaningful narrowing of losses due to a further product mix improvement and reversal of inventory write-down from the memory price recovery. For display, we expect a further earnings improvement on expanding supply of OLED panels for iPhone 15 models,” said Kim.

Continued 2024 momentum expected

Kim of Daiwa Capital said they expect “growing opportunities related to AI demand in 2024” for Samsung.

“In addition to supplying HBM3 to Nvidia starting from 4Q23 and expanding supply in 2024, we expect that Samsung Electronics will supply HBM3P, targeting next-gen AI GPUs from mid-2024,” said Kim in an Oct. 3 note.

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Stocks end November with mixed results despite a strong Thanksgiving week rally

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Stocks end November with mixed results despite a strong Thanksgiving week rally

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Palantir has worst month in two years as AI stocks sell off

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Palantir has worst month in two years as AI stocks sell off

CEO of Palantir Technologies Alex Karp attends the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 15, 2025.

Nathan Howard | Reuters

It’s been a tough November for Palantir.

Shares of the software analytics provider dropped 16% for their worst month since August 2023 as investors dumped AI stocks due to valuation fears. Meanwhile, famed investor Michael Burry doubled down on the artificial intelligence trade and bet against the company.

Palantir started November off on a high note.

The Denver-based company topped Wall Street’s third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations. Palantir also posted its second-straight $1 billion revenue quarter, but high valuation concerns contributed to a post-print selloff.

In a note to clients, Jefferies analysts called Palantir’s valuation “extreme” and argued investors would find better risk-reward in AI names such as Microsoft and Snowflake. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets raised concerns about the company’s “increasingly concentrated growth profile,” while Deutsche Bank called the valuation “very difficult to wrap our heads around.”

Adding fuel to the post-earnings selloff was the revelation that Burry is betting against Palantir and AI chipmaker Nvidia. Burry, who is widely known for predicting the housing crisis that occurred in 2008 and the portrayal of him in the film “The Big Short,” later accused hyperscalers of artificially boosting earnings.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp vocally hit the front lines, appearing twice in one week on CNBC, where he accused Burry of “market manipulation” and called the investor’s actions “egregious.”

“The idea that chips and ontology is what you want to short is bats— crazy,” Karp told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Despite the vicious selloff, Palantir has notched some deal wins this month. That included a multiyear contract with consulting firm PwC to speed up AI adoption in the U.K. and a deal with aircraft engine maintenance company FTAI.

But those announcements did little to shake off valuation worries that have haunted all AI-tied companies in November.

Across the board, investors have viciously ditched the high-priced group, citing fears of stretched valuations and a bubble.

In November, Nvidia pulled back more than 12%, while Microsoft and Amazon dropped about 5% each. Quantum computing names such as Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum have shed more than a third of their value.

Apple and Alphabet were the only Magnificent 7 stocks to end the month with gains.

Sill, questions linger over Palantir’s valuation, and those worries aren’t a new concern.

Even after its steep price drop, the company’s stock trades at 233 times forward earnings. By comparison, Nvidia and Alphabet traded at about 38 times and 30 times, respectively, at Friday’s close.

Karp, who has long defended the company, didn’t miss an opportunity to clap back at his critics, arguing in a letter to shareholders that the company is making it feasible for everyday investors to attain rates of return once “limited to the most successful venture capitalists in Palo Alto.”

“Please turn on the conventional television and see how unhappy those that didn’t invest in us are,” Karp said during an earnings call. “Enjoy, get some popcorn. They’re crying. We are every day making this company better, and we’re doing it for this nation, for allied countries.”

Palantir declined to comment for this story.

WATCH: Palantir CEO Alex Karp: We’ve printed venture results for the average American

Palantir CEO Alex Karp: We've printed venture results for the average American

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CME disruption, Black Friday, the K-beauty boom and more in Morning Squawk

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CME disruption, Black Friday, the K-beauty boom and more in Morning Squawk

CME Group sign at NYMEX in New York.

Adam Jeffery | CNBC

This is CNBC’s Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox.

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

1. Down and out

Stock futures trading was halted this morning after a data center “cooling issue” took down several Chicago Mercantile Exchange services. Individual stocks were still trading before the bell, while the CME said futures indexes and options trading would open fully at 8:30 a.m. Follow live markets updates here.

The stock market has rebounded during the holiday-shortened trading week. But the three major indexes are still on pace to end November’s trading month — which ends with today’s closing bell — in the red. The Dow and S&P 500 are poised to snap six-month winning streaks, while the Nasdaq Composite is on track to see its first negative month in eight.

Today’s trading session ends early at 1 p.m. ET.

2. Shopping and dropping

A Black Friday sale sign is displayed in a shop window at an outlet mall in Carlsbad, California, U.S., Nov. 25, 2025.

Mike Blake | Reuters

Black Friday was once considered the biggest in-person shopping day of the year, drawing huge crowds to stores in search of bargains. But while millions are still expected to partake in the occasion, it’s not what it used to be.

Here’s what to know:

  • In the past six years, online sales have outpaced brick-and-mortar spending on Black Friday. Data shows in-person foot traffic has been mostly flat over the last few years, as well.
  • No matter where they make their purchases, shoppers are also skeptical that they’re getting the best deals.
  • As CNBC’s Gabrielle Fonrouge reports, the shift has meant a change in strategy for many of the retail industry’s biggest names. Some have started offering their holiday sales earlier in the season, while others are spacing out their promotions.
  • Deloitte reported that the average consumer will shell out $622 between Nov. 27 and Dec. 1, a decrease of 4% from last year.
  • Even as the day of deals loses its allure, AT&T found that Gen Z participates the most, while their older counterparts do their shopping closer to Christmas.

3. AI comeback

Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images

Alphabet has been a notable exception to the recent tech downturn. Shares of the Google parent have surged more than 13% this month as Wall Street sees the company as an AI leader.

Alphabet began the month by announcing its latest tensor processing units, or TPUs, called Ironwood. Last week, the company launched its latest AI model, Gemini 3, which caught positive attention from Silicon Valley heavyweights.

Shares of the stock are now up close to 70% this year, making it the best-performer within megacap tech. But experts told CNBC’s Jennifer Elias that Alphabet’s lead in the competitive AI market is marginal and could be hard to hold onto.

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4. Tech’s tug of wars

Alibaba announced plans to release a pair of smart glasses powered by its AI models. The Quark AI Glasses are Alibaba’s first foray into the smart glasses product category.

Alibaba

The Alphabet-Nvidia AI race isn’t the only tech rivalry that has heated up in recent days.

Alibaba‘s AI-powered smart glasses went on sale yesterday. With its new wearable tech offering, the Chinese tech company is going up against major players — namely Meta, which unveiled its smart glasses with Ray Ban in September.

Meanwhile, Counterpoint Research found Apple is poised to ship more smartphones than Samsung this year for the first time in 14 years. Apple is also poised to boast a larger market share, driven by strong iPhone 17 sales.

5. From Seoul to Los Angeles

Carly Xie looks over facial mask items at the Face Shop, which specializes in Korean cosmetics, in San Francisco, April 15, 2015.

Avila Gonzalez | San Francisco Chronicle | Hearst Newspapers | Getty Images

American shoppers are increasingly looking to South Korea for their cosmetics. NielsenIQ found U.S. sales of so-called “K-beauty” products are slated to surge more than 37% this year to above $2 billion.

Retailers ranging from beauty product hubs Ulta and Sephora to big-box chains Walmart and Costco are jumping on the trend. On top of that, Olive Young — aka the “Sephora of Seoul” — is opening its first U.S. store in Los Angeles next year.

The Daily Dividend

Here are some stories worth circling back to over the weekend:

CNBC’s Chloe Taylor, Gabrielle Fonrouge, Laya Neelakandan, Jessica Dickler, Sarah Min, Sean Conlon, Jennifer Elias, Arjun Kharpal and Luke Fountain contributed to this report. Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.

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