Samsung‘s YoY smartphone shipment decreased in Q4 2022, yielding the volume champion to Apple this quarter.
In 2022 full year, Samsung remained the marketshare leadership with a minor shipment fall. However, the Korean giant still outperformed the overall market, which was in a contraction status and faced strong headwinds such as economic slowdown and geopolitical tensions.
The increased ASP could not offset the shipment fall in Q4 2022, as a result, Samsung’s wholesale revenue dropped. Meanwhile, blaming to the price pressure from key components and inventory corrections, Samsung’s operating profit margin reached a lowest value since Q4 2016.
In Q1 2023, the newly announced premier line-up Galaxy S23 series will boost Samsung’s shipment and profitability. We expect S23 series to hold well in Western countries but face intensified competition from Chinese vendors in emerging markets.
As the king of Android campaign, Samsung is recommended to continue enhancing its brand equity worldwide to grab more market share from Apple and meanwhile to manage resources more effectively to secure the company’s profitability. Substantial hardware upgrade and aggressive pricing strategy is also needed to move the needle of foldable market in 2023.
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