NextGComm Telecom Market Intelligence · 30 October 2026 · Source: Samsung Electronics 3Q 2026 Earnings Call presentation (consolidated, K-IFRS, pre-review)
Currency note. Samsung reports in Korean won (KRW). All US$ figures in this briefing are NextGComm conversions at KRW 1,337.7 = US$1, the Seoul foreign-exchange market closing reference rate (3:30 p.m. KST) on 28 October 2026, the date of Samsung's 3Q26 earnings materials. Every period (3Q25, 2Q26, 3Q26) is converted at this one rate, so growth percentages match Samsung's reported KRW figures. "B" = billion, "T" = trillion. The original KRW figures are shown alongside for reference. See Methodology.
1. Executive Summary
- Samsung Networks went backwards in Q3. Samsung reported that NW earnings declined both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, due to lower North American and software sales.
- NW is now a very small business inside MX/NW. Samsung does not disclose NW on its own. Subtracting reported MX sales from MX/NW sales implies NW revenue of about US$0.30B (KRW 0.4T) in 3Q26, down from about US$0.67B (KRW 0.9T) in 2Q26 and US$0.45B (KRW 0.6T) in 3Q25 (NextGComm estimate; rounding ±US$0.07B, i.e. ±KRW 0.1T).
- The combined MX/NW segment grew sales but stayed loss-making. MX/NW sales were US$28.2B (KRW 37.7T), +14% QoQ and +11% YoY. Operating profit was −US$0.45B (KRW −0.6T), versus −US$0.52B (KRW −0.7T) in 2Q26 and +US$2.7B (KRW +3.6T) in 3Q25.
- Samsung itself names "telco investment headwinds". For 2027 the NW goal is to drive profitable growth by securing new orders amid telco investment headwinds, which is a direct read on the operator capex cycle.
- The near-term NW plan centres on three markets. For 4Q26 Samsung aims to secure profitability through revenue growth in North America, Korea and Japan.
- Mobile (MX) carried the segment. New flagship launches, including the Galaxy Z Fold8, Z Fold8 Ultra and Z Flip8 foldables, lifted MX sales to US$27.9B (KRW 37.3T). Earnings fell YoY on cost pressures but improved QoQ on a richer flagship mix.
- The group is in an AI-memory super-cycle. Samsung posted record revenue of US$146.0B (KRW 195.3T) and operating profit of US$80.3B (KRW 107.4T), making it the first global tech company ever above KRW 100T (≈US$74.8B) in quarterly OP. MX/NW's share of group revenue has fallen from 39.6% to 19.3% in a year.
- Implication for MNOs and telecom leadership. Samsung Networks is order-hungry, focused on profitability and concentrated in NA/Korea/Japan. That points to a buyer's market for RAN and network software, and leaves the NW business sitting inside a parent whose profits now come almost entirely from semiconductors.
2. Group Context: Where MX/NW Sits
Samsung Electronics delivered its fourth consecutive quarter of record revenue and operating profit, driven by Memory (HBM4, server DRAM, server SSD). The network business has to be read against that backdrop: the parent's earnings engine is now almost entirely semiconductor-driven.
Group revenue vs operating profit
US$ billion
3Q26 sales by business segment
US$ billion · MX/NW highlighted
3. MX/NW Segment Performance
Samsung reports its smartphone business (MX, Mobile eXperience) and its network infrastructure business (NW, Networks) as one segment. In 3Q26 the segment's sales rose to a three-quarter high, but it stayed in an operating loss for the second consecutive quarter.
MX/NW segment sales
US$ billion · MX portion shown inside each bar
MX/NW operating profit
US$ billion
View the full MX/NW data table (US$ and KRW)
| US$ billion | 3Q25 | 2Q26 | 3Q26 | QoQ | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MX/NW sales | 25.5 | 24.8 | 28.2 | +14% | +11% |
| MX sales | 25.0 | 24.1 | 27.9 | +15% | +11% |
| NW sales (implied*) | ≈0.45 | ≈0.67 | ≈0.30 | ≈−56% | ≈−33% |
| MX/NW operating profit | 2.7 | (0.52) | (0.45) | +0.07 | −3.1 |
| DX division sales (MX/NW + VD/DA) | 36.2 | 35.9 | 38.9 | +8% | +8% |
| DX division operating profit | 2.6 | (0.60) | (0.60) | −0.01 | −3.2 |
| MX/NW share of group sales | 39.6% | 19.4% | 19.3% | −0.05%p | −20.3%p |
As reported by Samsung (KRW trillion)
| KRW trillion | 3Q25 | 2Q26 | 3Q26 | QoQ | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MX/NW sales | 34.1 | 33.2 | 37.7 | +14% | +11% |
| MX sales | 33.5 | 32.3 | 37.3 | +15% | +11% |
| NW sales (implied*) | ≈0.6 | ≈0.9 | ≈0.4 | ≈−56% | ≈−33% |
| MX/NW operating profit | 3.6 | (0.7) | (0.6) | +0.1 | −4.2 |
| DX division sales (MX/NW + VD/DA) | 48.4 | 48.0 | 52.1 | +8% | +8% |
| DX division operating profit | 3.5 | (0.8) | (0.8) | −0.01 | −4.3 |
*Implied NW = reported MX/NW sales minus reported MX sales (NextGComm calculation). Both inputs are rounded to KRW 0.1T, so each NW value carries ±KRW 0.1T (≈ ±US$0.07B) uncertainty and the % changes are indicative only. Share of group sales is NextGComm calculation. QoQ/YoY percentages are as published by Samsung and are identical in US$ because one exchange rate is applied to all periods. Operating-profit changes are absolute amounts. US$ converted at KRW 1,337.7/US$ (28 Oct 2026).
What Samsung said: 3Q26 results
NWNetworks
- Earnings declined QoQ and YoY due to lower North American and software sales.
This was Samsung's only Q3 comment on NW. It gave no NW revenue, profit or order figures. See Section 4 for NextGComm's implied NW revenue estimate.
MXMobile eXperience
- Presented on the call by Daniel Araujo, VP, Mobile eXperience.
- Revenue increased QoQ and YoY, driven by new flagship launches including foldables (Galaxy Z Flip8, Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold8).
- Earnings declined YoY on cost pressures, but improved QoQ with a higher flagship mix.
- At DX division level, Samsung cited revenue growth from higher ASP and new model launches including the Galaxy Z Fold 8, with the earnings decline minimised through a higher premium mix, operational efficiency and disciplined cost management.
4. Networks (NW) Business Deep-Dive
Samsung gave one line on Q3 NW performance and two forward-looking lines (4Q26 and 2027). Read together with the segment arithmetic, they describe a business facing a soft operator spending cycle that is prioritising profitable orders over volume.
Implied NW revenue (NextGComm estimate)
US$ billion · MX/NW sales minus MX sales
MX/NW share of Samsung group revenue
% of consolidated sales
Reading the three NW statements
3Q26 · Result
- "Earnings declined QoQ/YoY due to lower North American and software sales."
NextGComm read: North America has historically been Samsung Networks' largest overseas market, and software typically carries higher margins than hardware, so weakness in both hits profit harder than revenue.
4Q26 · Outlook
- "Secure profitability through revenue growth in North America, Korea and Japan."
NextGComm read: The focus narrows to three anchor markets, with profitability ahead of geographic expansion. Q4 is usually a seasonally stronger quarter for operator spending.
2027 · Outlook
- "Drive profitable growth by securing new orders amid telco investment headwinds."
NextGComm read: Samsung explicitly expects operator capex to stay constrained into 2027. Order capture, not market recovery, is the growth lever.
Caution. The implied NW revenue figures are arithmetic on two rounded numbers and should be treated as directional. Samsung did not disclose NW revenue, NW operating profit, order intake, customer names, 5G/vRAN/Open RAN splits or headcount in this presentation, and no NW executive was among the listed call speakers.
5. Outlook: 4Q 2026 & 2027 (Company Guidance Only)
The statements below are Samsung's guidance, unedited apart from formatting. Samsung gave no numeric guidance for MX or NW.
NWNetworks
- 4Q26: Secure profitability through revenue growth in North America, Korea and Japan.
- 2027: Drive profitable growth by securing new orders amid telco investment headwinds.
MXMobile eXperience
- 4Q26: Drive year-end peak-season sales of the S26 series, foldables and new Ecosystem products.
- 4Q26: Mitigate profitability risks through efficiency improvements across all business processes.
- 2027: Maintain mobile leadership via three strategic priorities:
- Improve product mix centred on flagships, with differentiated experiences by customer segment.
- Enhance desirability and deliver tangible value through hardware and form-factor innovation.
- Minimise profit declines with agile market responses and operational efficiency.
6. Telecom-Adjacent Signals Across Samsung
Several items outside the MX/NW segment matter to the mobile device supply chain and to AI infrastructure, which shapes operators' edge and cloud strategy. They are listed in full below.
System LSI: mobile silicon
- 3Q26: Revenue growth from SoC and image-sensor mass production in new models launched in 2H.
- 3Q26: Secured Custom SoC projects by establishing new customer partnerships.
- 4Q26: Stable production and sales of flagship SoC and 200MP sensors.
- 2027: Expand flagship SoC sales and strengthen partnerships with Custom SoC customers. Accelerate flagship high-resolution sensor sales and diversify into non-mobile applications.
Foundry: advanced nodes
- 3Q26: Substantial revenue and earnings improvement on HBM B-Die sales growth and expanded advanced-node sales.
- 3Q26: Continued order wins centred on 2nm HPC customers, including major hyperscalers.
- 4Q26: Double-digit revenue growth and continued earnings improvement on 2nm 2nd-Gen new mobile products, the 4nm NPU mass-production ramp and expanded memory product sales.
- 2027: Revenue growth led by 4nm/2nm on strong AI/HPC demand. Strengthen global supply capabilities as the first fab in Taylor, U.S. starts operations.
Memory: AI infrastructure
- 3Q26: Record revenue and OP. Product mix focused on AI products amid capacity constraints. Prices rose across all applications, led by server demand.
- 3Q26: Significantly scaled up HBM4 sales and proactively met growing server-SSD demand.
- 4Q26: Maintain an AI-application-focused sales strategy. AI infrastructure investment to continue, backed by industry-wide competition for AI leadership. Demand growth centred on new CPU/GPU platforms, and surging QLC SSD demand linked to the expansion of personal AI Agent services. More HBM, Server DRAM and SSD sales, plus more supply of high-speed Server DDR5 and QLC.
- 2027: AI infra capex to accelerate. AI-driven demand is likely to tighten supply shortages further versus CY26. Samsung will lead the high-end market, build a stable sales base through long-term contracts and ensure timely readiness of new products for AI applications. Samsung will also solidify competitiveness via technology leadership and product-mix optimisation aligned with market trends and voice of customer (VoC), and sharpen its AI-server-driven portfolio.
Samsung Display (SDC): smartphone panels
- 3Q26: QoQ improvement on strong smartphone OLED panel sales. Small & medium revenue and profit rose on timely panel supply for customers' new products.
- 4Q26: Year-end seasonal demand and new product launches are expected, though external factors may affect earnings. Expand small & medium sales by responding to customer demand.
- 2027: Market demand is likely to be weak amid ongoing uncertainties. Samsung plans to expand its premium smartphone product mix and raise volume through the 8.6G IT OLED line ramp-up.
7. Implications for Operators & Vendors (NextGComm Advisory)
Samsung's own guidance confirms what operators are living through: the RAN cycle is soft, and vendors are competing hard for every order.
For mobile network operators
- Negotiating leverage is high. A vendor guiding to "securing new orders amid telco investment headwinds" will be flexible on commercial terms, especially in North America, Korea and Japan.
- Software deals are in play. Lower software sales suggest delayed or smaller software and feature-licence purchases. Operators can push for value-based or outcome-linked software pricing.
- Check vendor concentration risk. NW is a small unit inside a group whose profit now comes overwhelmingly from memory. Operators relying on Samsung for RAN should seek multi-year roadmap and support commitments in writing.
For competing vendors and partners
- Price competition is likely in NA, Korea and Japan as Samsung prioritises revenue growth in those markets for profitability.
- AI infrastructure is the growth adjacency. Samsung Memory explicitly links QLC SSD demand to personal AI agent services, which reinforces operator interest in AI-ready edge and data-centre capacity.
Watch-list for 4Q26
- Whether implied NW revenue recovers from about US$0.30B (KRW 0.4T) with Q4 seasonality.
- New NW order announcements in North America, Korea or Japan.
- Whether the MX/NW segment returns to operating profit on S26 and foldable peak-season sales.
8. Other Announcements (Outside Telecom Scope)
For completeness, these were the other announcements in the presentation. They are summarised briefly here because they fall outside NextGComm's network and telecom coverage.
View non-telecom announcements
- Group milestone: First global tech company ever to exceed KRW 100T (≈US$74.8B) in quarterly operating profit, with record revenue and OP for the fourth consecutive quarter.
- Shareholder returns: Q3 cash dividends total US$22.4B (KRW 30T), or US$3.44 (KRW 4,601) per common and per preferred share. Of the estimated US$67.3–82.2B (KRW 90–110T) in total 2026 returns, US$26.2B (KRW 35T) is already planned or completed, leaving US$41.1–56.1B (KRW 55–75T). The remainder will include a substantial share repurchase and cancellation programme plus cash dividends. Samsung will consider adjusting the proportion of preferred shares in buybacks given the common/preferred price gap. The next return policy and final 2026 amounts are due at a Board meeting in late January 2027.
- Balance sheet (30 Sep 2026): Net cash of US$147.7B (KRW 197.6T), total assets of US$591.9B (KRW 791.8T), current ratio 310%, debt/equity 3%. Operating cash flow was US$73.7B (KRW 98.6T) in the quarter and PP&E purchases were US$20.1B (KRW 26.9T). Net profit was US$56.1B (KRW 75.1T), ROE 57% and EBITDA margin 62%.
- Memory segment: Sales of US$105.2B (KRW 140.7T), +16% QoQ and +427% YoY. Total DS division OP was US$79.6B (KRW 106.5T).
- VD (TV): Sales of US$5.4B (KRW 7.2T). Revenue declined after a major sporting event, but premium product sales and cost efficiency helped mitigate the profitability decline. In 4Q26 Samsung will capture peak-season demand with stronger channel partnerships and more premium sales. In 2027 it will deliver differentiated TV experiences and grow the services and platform businesses.
- DA (appliances): Earnings declined on raw material and logistics costs despite stronger domestic marketing and B2B/subscription growth. VD/DA sales were US$10.4B (KRW 13.9T) and OP was −US$0.15B (KRW −0.2T). The 4Q26 goal is to strengthen business fundamentals and profitability, and the 2027 goal is to secure profitability through innovative AI products and high-margin businesses.
- Harman: Sales of US$3.2B (KRW 4.3T) and OP of US$0.45B (KRW 0.6T), helped by automotive/audio sales and one-off U.S. tariff refunds. In 4Q26 Harman aims to sustain growth and solid profitability in peak season for audio and automotive sales conversion. Its 2027 priorities are automotive competitiveness and extending audio leadership through portfolio enhancement and technology innovation.
- SDC large panels: 3Q26 earnings improved on high-end product sales and cost reduction, and gaming-monitor market expansion supported sales. In 4Q26 Samsung will improve profitability by expanding gaming-monitor sales, and in 2027 it will enhance profitability with high-value-added products. SDC sales were US$6.0B (KRW 8.0T) and OP was US$0.82B (KRW 1.1T).
9. Data Gaps & Methodology
- Currency conversion. Samsung reports only in KRW. US$ figures are NextGComm conversions at KRW 1,337.7 per US$1, the Seoul FX market 3:30 p.m. closing reference rate on 28 Oct 2026. All periods use this single rate, so QoQ/YoY growth equals Samsung's KRW-reported growth. Because the won strengthened during 2026, from about KRW 1,559 per US$ on 5 June 2026 (its weakest point of the year) to KRW 1,337.7 on 28 October, US$ amounts converted at each quarter's own average rate would generally be lower than shown here. The gap is largest for 2Q26. Figures are therefore suited to scale comparison, not to matching USD amounts reported elsewhere. Per-share amounts are rounded to the cent. Other US$ amounts are rounded to US$0.1B, or to US$0.01B below US$1B.
- No standalone NW disclosure. NW revenue is derived (MX/NW minus MX). NW operating profit cannot be derived because MX operating profit is not disclosed.
- Legacy segment structure. Samsung reports DX on the business structure before its reorganisation, and on the organisational structure as of December 2021, so figures may not match current internal units.
- Intersegment sales are included in business-unit sales.
- Pre-review figures. The presentation was issued before the external review of 3Q26 results was completed, and figures may change.
- Forward-looking statements are Samsung's own and are subject to market, FX and macro uncertainties as described in the company disclaimer.
- Not disclosed: NW order intake, backlog, customer names, product split (5G RAN, vRAN, Open RAN, core, private networks), NW headcount, and any NW-specific numeric guidance.
10. Sources
- Samsung Electronics, 3Q 2026 Earnings Call presentation (consolidated, K-IFRS): Results by Business Segment; MX/NW; S.LSI/Foundry; Memory; SDC; Appendices 1–4. Samsung Investor Relations.
- NextGComm calculations: implied NW revenue, MX/NW share of group sales, and all US$ conversions.
- Exchange rate: KRW 1,337.7 per US$1, Seoul foreign-exchange market closing reference rate (3:30 p.m. KST), 28 October 2026, as reported by SBS News. 2026 high of KRW 1,559.36 (5 June 2026) per exchange-rates.org.
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