---
title: "LG Innotek fell 16% in a day as profit forecasts collapsed; its AI parts rescue starts in 2027"
description: "A stronger won and Apple's iPhone 18 order cuts have knocked a third or more off the camera-module maker's third-quarter profit forecasts. Chief executive Moon Hyuk-soo's substrate answer, FC-BGA in 2027 and glass in 2028, is the trade Korean chip-substrate stocks rallied on October 16."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Markets"
published: 2026-10-16T14:34:46.429Z
modified: 2026-10-16T14:34:46.429Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/lg-innotek-fell-16-in-a-day-as-profit-forecasts-collapsed-its-ai-parts-rescue-starts-in-2027
language: en
keywords: "LG Innotek, Samsung Electro Mechanics, Apple, Semiconductors, South Korea"
---

# LG Innotek fell 16% in a day as profit forecasts collapsed; its AI parts rescue starts in 2027

> A stronger won and Apple's iPhone 18 order cuts have knocked a third or more off the camera-module maker's third-quarter profit forecasts. Chief executive Moon Hyuk-soo's substrate answer, FC-BGA in 2027 and glass in 2028, is the trade Korean chip-substrate stocks rallied on October 16.

## A 16 percent day, and the forecasts behind it

[LG Innotek](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/lg-innotek), the LG group parts maker whose camera modules go into [Apple](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/apple)'s iPhones, closed down 16.17% at 479,500 won on October 12, 2026, its first finish below 500,000 won since late July [1]. Yuanta Securities had [cut its third-quarter operating profit forecast to 78.7 billion won from 320 billion won](https://news.jkn.co.kr/editions/english/post/1020419), and the broker consensus tracked by market tracker FnGuide fell 32.8% in a month, to 202.9 billion won [1][2].

*Chart: **The Q3 forecasts now cluster far below the 302 billion won consensus of a month ago** Column chart of Q3 2026 operating profit forecasts for LG Innotek in billions of won: FnGuide consensus 302 a month earlier and 202.9 on October 13, against Kiwoom at 91.7 and Yuanta at 78.7.*

*Broker forecasts for LG Innotek's third-quarter 2026 operating profit, billions of won. FnGuide consensus as reported on October 13, 2026, with its month-earlier level; Yuanta and Kiwoom from the same reports. [1][2]*

Two forces did the cutting. The won strengthened from an average 1,502 per dollar in the second quarter to 1,418 in the third, so modules built from materials bought at the weaker rate shipped into the stronger one [1]. Apple also [asked suppliers to cut October orders for iPhone 18 Pro components by at least 15%](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/09/apple-cuts-iphone-18-pro-orders-price-demand/) after memory-chip costs forced price increases [7]. Optical solutions, the camera-module segment, was 82% of first-half revenue [1].

## The pivot is dated 2027 and 2028

Chief executive Moon Hyuk-soo put dates on the escape [at the Korea Electronics Show on October 13](https://www.ajupress.com/view/20261013161670097) [3]. Long-term supply agreements with big tech are still in negotiation, he said, with customers that are "companies everyone knows" [3][8]. The FC-BGA business, high-density substrates that connect chips to circuit boards in AI servers, improves from 2027, and glass substrates, a next-generation packaging material, reach supply around 2028 from a pilot line in Gumi [3][8]. His own caution runs further: "meaningful numbers" for glass arrive only after 2028 [8].

## One data centre takes 170,000 of the boards

The substrate division earned 99.6 billion won on 935.6 billion won of first-half sales, and KB Securities [projects FC-BGA revenue rising from 140 billion won this year to 2 trillion won by 2030](https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10901168) [8]. The demand is concrete: [one data center takes roughly 170,000 of the boards by industry estimate](https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20261015VL229/lg-innotek-substrate-2027-growth-fc-bga.html), and LG Innotek's own photos show an AI accelerator substrate at six times the size of a PC one [5][8].

## The rival is already being paid

[Samsung Electro-Mechanics](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/samsung-electro-mechanics), the Samsung group parts maker whose sales are spread across capacitors, substrates and optics, collects on the same trade today. Its third-quarter consensus rose 6.2% to 642.3 billion won in the very month LG Innotek's fell [2].

It has also disclosed [six long-term AI-component agreements this year, worth about 3.9 trillion won](https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-industry/2026/10/06/MTKNNC26UJCB5OE4VGOGY5W76E/) across AI-server MLCCs, silicon capacitors and inductors [2][9]. The October 16 rally in Korean substrate stocks rode Hana Securities' call for further price increases into early 2027 [6]. Hana's own dating of the shortage tempers it: new Korean capacity is fully reflected only after the second half of 2027 [6].

*Chart: **In one month LG Innotek's Q3 profit consensus fell by a third while Samsung Electro-Mechanics rose** Range chart comparing Q3 operating profit consensus a month apart: LG Innotek fell from 302 to 202.9 billion won while Samsung Electro-Mechanics rose from 605 to 642.3 billion won.*

*Broker consensus for Q3 2026 operating profit, billions of won, from FnGuide data reported October 13, 2026, against month-earlier levels. [2]*

## Timing bulls against a dated payoff

The bulls call the damage [currency timing](https://theinference.org/article/korea-s-top-1-traders-dump-lg-innotek-as-brokers-cut-its-quarter-by-half-and-blame-the-won) rather than demand. Mirae Asset raised its LG Innotek target to 1,100,000 won from 950,000 won, citing unchanged shipment volumes and new-product demand [1]. DB Financial Investment expects a re-rating from next year as package solutions grows [1]. Even Kiwoom Securities' 91.7 billion won forecast puts the exchange rate first [2].

For a holder, the split is a matter of dates. Samsung Electro-Mechanics is being paid for AI parts this quarter, in a rising consensus and signed contracts [2][9]. LG Innotek's substrate revenue is dated 2027 and 2028, and its camera business carries the stock until then [3]. [LG Electronics has already shown the weakness through](https://theinference.org/article/lg-electronics-missed-its-q3-profit-estimate-by-19-9-on-currency-timing-at-lg-innotek): 781.8 billion won of third-quarter operating profit, with the subsidiary dragging [1]. One parts maker is being paid this quarter; the other is waiting on a calendar.

## Takeaway

Broker forecasts for LG Innotek's third quarter fell by up to three quarters on the stronger won and Apple order cuts; the AI substrate payoff is dated 2027 and 2028, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics is being paid for AI parts now.

## Sources

1. [JKN, "LG Innotek Plunges 16% in a Single Day as Q3 Profit Forecasts Slashed by Three Quarters, Stock Dips Below 500,000 Won", 13 October 2026](https://news.jkn.co.kr/editions/english/post/1020419)
2. [The Korea Times, "AI supply chain exposure splits Q3 outlook for Samsung, LG parts units", 13 October 2026](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/business/tech-science/20261013/ai-supply-chain-exposure-splits-q3-outlook-for-samsung-lg-parts-units)
3. [Aju Press, "LG Innotek CEO Moon Hyuk-soo: Semiconductor Glass Substrates Expected by 2028", 13 October 2026](https://www.ajupress.com/view/20261013161670097)
5. [DIGITIMES, "LG Innotek eyes 2027 chip substrate growth as Big Tech supply talks continue", 16 October 2026](https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20261015VL229/lg-innotek-substrate-2027-growth-fc-bga.html)
6. [Chosunbiz, "Bargain hunting lifts Korea chip substrate stocks as brokerages see more hikes", 16 October 2026](https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-finance/2026/10/16/VRZ2LAH32BBY3KGJRDJSMW5QSM/?outputType=amp)
7. [MacRumors, "Apple Reportedly Cuts iPhone 18 Pro Orders After Price Hike Dampens Demand", 9 October 2026](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/09/apple-cuts-iphone-18-pro-orders-price-demand/)
8. [Herald Business, "LG Innotek chief says FC-BGA business to improve next year, eyes long-term supply deals with big tech", 13 October 2026](https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10901168)
9. [Chosunbiz, "Samsung Electro-Mechanics clinches 286 billion won AI server MLCC deal", 6 October 2026](https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-industry/2026/10/06/MTKNNC26UJCB5OE4VGOGY5W76E/)


---

LG Innotek fell 16% in a day as profit forecasts collapsed; its AI parts rescue starts in 2027 — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/lg-innotek-fell-16-in-a-day-as-profit-forecasts-collapsed-its-ai-parts-rescue-starts-in-2027