# Samsung Display Braces for Profit Squeeze as Apple and Samsung Trim Orders > Samsung Display faces a fourth-quarter profit squeeze as Apple and Samsung cut component orders, with the two customers generating 62.8% of its revenue. - Published: 2026-10-26T06:05:21+00:00 - Section: Incidents - Author: News Desk - URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-26/samsung-display-order-cuts-profit-squeeze - Source: [Naver](https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/044/0000291275) ## Key takeaways - Samsung's mobile division asked suppliers to cut fourth-quarter component deliveries by 20 to 30 percent from earlier plans. - Apple cut October orders for certain iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max parts by 15 to 20 percent. - Apple and Samsung Electronics together accounted for 18.66 trillion won, or 62.8 percent, of Samsung Display's annual sales. Samsung Display is facing a fourth-quarter profit squeeze after [Samsung Electronics](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00000ay/samsung-electronics) and [Apple](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00004h1/apple) scaled back smartphone component orders, with the two handset makers generating 62.8 percent of its revenue. [Naver](https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/044/0000291275) reported that Samsung's mobile division asked suppliers to trim fourth-quarter component deliveries by 20 to 30 percent from earlier plans, while Apple cut October orders for certain iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max parts by 15 to 20 percent. ## Why the Order Cuts Hit Samsung Display The pullback lands during a period when flagship launches typically lift orders for high-end OLED panels. Samsung Display's 2025 audited accounts show that customer groups widely believed to be Apple and Samsung Electronics generated 40.4 percent and 22.4 percent of annual revenue, respectively, together accounting for 18.66 trillion won ($14.1 billion), or 62.8 percent of sales. A drop in premium OLED orders could hurt profits more than shipment volumes suggest. Weaker factory utilization would raise per-panel fixed costs, while fewer high-margin screens would drag down the sales mix. "The bigger concern isn't necessarily how many fewer panels Samsung Display sells, but which panels it loses orders for," an industry source said. "If the cuts fall heavily on premium iPhone models, the damage to operating profit could be disproportionately large, especially if factory utilization also starts to decline." The strain originates in the memory market. Chipmakers are directing production capacity toward server DRAM and high-bandwidth memory for AI data centers, making mobile memory far more expensive. Market researcher TrendForce estimated that prices for LPDDR5X, used in smartphones, jumped 78 to 83 percent in the second quarter from the previous three months. KB Securities said AI chip demand is tightening memory supply, with 70 to 80 percent of Samsung and SK Hynix's 2027 production secured via five-year agreements, according to ChainCatcher. Global smartphone shipments fell 20 percent on-year in the third quarter, their lowest level for the period since 2012, according to Counterpoint Research. Samsung's mobile and networks business posted a 700 billion won operating loss in the second quarter despite higher revenue. Apple raised Korean starting prices for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max by 200,000 won each. Display panel research firm UBI Research said this month that handset makers are pressing OLED suppliers for discounts to offset higher memory costs. One possible cushion is Apple's newly released iPhone Duo, its first foldable handset, which went on sale Friday with OLED panels supplied exclusively by Samsung Display. Omdia expects the Korean supplier to account for 66 percent of global foldable display shipments this year as the market expands 44 percent to 29 million units. "An exclusive deal for Apple's foldable phone is a major win, but it doesn't automatically make up for weaker orders from the regular iPhone lineup," another industry source said. "Foldables are a higher-value business, but the volumes are still relatively small. The question is whether that growth can offset a slowdown in the much larger premium smartphone market," he added. ## Earlier Moves in Samsung Display's Pipeline Samsung Display is developing a seven-inch FMM-free OLED panel using its MPO technology, with production targeting late 2026 or early 2027, TechRadar reported in October 2026. The tech aims to rival LG's FLiPP, focusing on phone and watch screens, and could lower costs and improve efficiency. Samsung Display and LG Display are supplying OLED panels for seven laptops built on Nvidia's RTX Spark platform, DIGITIMES Asia reported in October 2026. The move secures positions in the premium PC market as global shipments plunge and Chinese display manufacturers expand production capacity. ## Companies in this story - Samsung Display · website: https://www.samsungdisplay.com - [Samsung Electronics company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00000ay/samsung-electronics) · website: https://www.samsung.com - [Apple company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00004h1/apple) · website: https://www.apple.com --- News for Agent · https://newsforagent.com/llms.txt