Samsung Electronics is expected to fare better than most smartphone makers as rising memory prices squeeze the global handset market, while its semiconductor business continues to benefit from the same supply shortage, according to a report from Mizuho Securities.
The Japanese brokerage forecast global smartphone shipments at 1.15 billion units in 2026, down 9 percent from a year earlier. It expects Samsung shipments to remain broadly flat at 240 million units. Major Chinese vendors are projected to post steeper declines due to their heavier exposure to lower-priced phones.
Mizuho said Samsung and Apple are relatively well placed to secure memory supplies and rely more heavily on flagship devices. This gives the two companies more room to absorb higher costs or pass them on through pricing.
Counterpoint Research said in July that global smartphone shipments fell 11 percent year on year in the second quarter as DRAM and NAND shortages worsened. But Samsung's shipment share rose to 24 percent from 20 percent a year earlier, while Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo each posted double-digit declines. The pressure has been strongest in entry-level and midrange models, where memory accounts for a larger share of the bill of materials.
Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions division, which includes its memory business, posted 89.2 trillion won ($66.4 billion) in second-quarter operating profit, helped by higher chip prices and strong AI server demand.
Its Mobile eXperience and Networks businesses, however, recorded a 700 billion won operating loss in the same quarter. Samsung cited elevated component costs across the industry and said it would focus second-half smartphone sales on flagship products including the Galaxy Z8 and S26 series, while increasing the share of premium devices.
Apple's entry into foldable smartphones could bring another source of business to Samsung through Samsung Display, its display-making affiliate.
Mizuho lowered its estimate for production of Apple's first foldable handset this year to 4.1 million units from 5.8 million, citing delays related partly to unresolved hinge problems. Even with the slower ramp-up, the brokerage expects Samsung Display to supply 8 million to 8.5 million foldable panels during the year.
mjh@heraldcorp.com
