April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s top two smartphone makers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are expected to see their smartphone sales fall in the all-important US market, hit hard by protectionist threats from president-elect Donald Trump, a local analyst said on Nov. 10.

In the first half of this year, Samsung and LG owned 26 percent and 13 percent market share, repectively, in the US smartphone market. Their combined share outpaced Apple’s 37 percent. 

“If the US government increases tariffs on tech products, smartphones could be hit hard among others,” said Park Hyoung-woo, an analyst at SK Securities.

“It seems unavoidable for Samsung and LG to suffer sales losses.”

The analyst, however, downplayed any serious impact on TV sales of the two Korean tech firms considering their key rivals in the US are also foreign firms, especially those from Japan and China.

“But it is still likely for them to see profit losses following possible tariff hikes overall,” he added.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)