LG Electronics missed its Q3 profit estimate by 19.9% on currency timing at LG Innotek
LG Electronics printed ₩781.8B of third-quarter operating profit, 19.9% under consensus, on a currency timing squeeze at subsidiary LG Innotek. Brokers who halved their Innotek estimates say market share and prices held, and Yuanta kept its Buy with a ₩1.2M target on a stock that closed at ₩644,000.
Vincent Jiang · 2 min read
A record nine months still lost 9% in a day
LG Electronics fell more than 9% in Seoul on October 7−3.61% — LG Electronics fell more than 9% in Seoul on October 7, down 3.61 percent today after its preliminary third-quarter print: operating profit of ₩781.8B, up 13.5% year on year yet 19.9% below the ₩975.7B local consensus 1. Revenue of ₩23.83T rose 8.9% 1. Nine-month figures were records on both lines, ₩71.38T of revenue and ₩4.03T of profit 12, and the stock still closed 3.6% lower at ₩200,500 the next day 2. LG Innotek−3.21% — LG Innotek, down 3.21 percent today, the subsidiary brokers blame, fell more than 4% 1. Against a FactSet panel at ₩1.028T, the gap was closer to a quarter 3.
LG Electronics printed ₩781.8B of Q3 operating profit, 19.9% under the local consensus
Data
| Q3 2026 operating profit | |
|---|---|
| Local consensus | ₩975.7B |
| FactSet panel | ₩1,028B |
| Reported | ₩781.8B |
The damage was booked in the currency market
The dollar-won rate slid from 1,549.4 at the end of June to about 1,330 by September 7, and July's 8.09% fall was the steepest month in roughly 17 years 4. Camera modules run on a lag: materials bought in the second quarter at the high rate landed in third-quarter costs, while finished modules priced at the lower rate 1. This miss was booked in the currency market, not the order book.
The dollar-won rate slid about 14% in ten weeks, the squeeze behind the miss
Data
| Dollar-won rate | |
|---|---|
| End of June | 1,549.4 |
| September 7 | 1,330 |
| October 8 | 1,342 |
The estimate ladder halved before the print
Broker estimates for LG Innotek's Q3 profit now run ₩79–157B, against ₩304B before the won slide
- Estimate
Data
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Shinhan (estimate) | ₩156.9B |
| Meritz (estimate) | ₩150.1B |
| Kiwoom (estimate) | ₩91.7B |
| Yuanta (estimate) | ₩78.7B |
Shinhan cut its Innotek operating-profit estimate from ₩304B to ₩156.9B; Meritz took 53.6% off its number for ₩150.1B; Kiwoom modeled ₩91.7B, down 55% year on year 1. Yuanta, publishing after the print, went lower still at ₩78.7B on revenue up 16.6% 5. Every house kept market share and average selling prices intact 1, and Yuanta expects the squeeze to ease from the fourth quarter as materials bought at the cheaper rate flow into production 5.
The Buy survived the target cut
Yuanta trimmed its target to ₩1.2M from ₩1.4M and kept the Buy, against a close of ₩644,000 5. The case is substrates: the company says high-volume FC-BGA output for PC CPUs began this quarter, on a path to $743M of package-solution operating profit by 2031 (company-claimed) 6, while Yuanta maps server switches in 2027 and server CPUs in 2028, under supply agreements averaging four to five years now in discussion 5. First-half operating profit of $401.96M, up 296%, is the company's own exhibit 6.
October 28 settles it
The preliminary numbers stay subject to audit 7, and the parent's division results, with Innotek's finalized quarter, arrive later this month; the calendar says October 28 2. The dollar bought about ₩1,342 on October 8 2. The lag that took the third quarter is the same lag that should hand back the fourth.
Deepdive
AI-generated from this story and its cited sources. Not investment advice.
