A smartphone OLED panel featuring OCF technology developed by Samsung Display. (Image provided by Samsung Display)
SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Chinese manufacturers that have rapidly expanded their footprint in the global display market continue to post weak or negative profitability, underscoring the lingering challenges they face in moving beyond low-cost products, industry data shows.
According to recent figures from Omdia, Samsung Display was the only major panel producer among the world’s top ten to record a double-digit average net profit margin over the past five years, at 12.19 percent.
Most Chinese competitors remained in the red, with EverDisplay averaging a steep negative 55.05 percent and Visionox negative 45.34 percent. Tianma barely broke even, while BOE — China’s largest panel maker — managed a modest 3.94 percent.
LG Display, hit by a downturn in large-sized OLED panels, reported a negative 5.04 percent margin over the same period.
The pattern has persisted into this year. Samsung Display achieved net margins above 10 percent in the first quarter and nearly 7 percent in the second. Chinese manufacturers mostly hovered below 4 percent, with Visionox and EverDisplay again stuck in double-digit losses.
Analysts attribute the gap to China’s continued reliance on lower-priced LCD products and entry-level OLEDs concentrated in the domestic market. While Samsung and other Korean firms have shifted aggressively toward premium OLED technology, many Chinese suppliers remain weighted toward budget models that drive volume but not profit.
That imbalance is reflected in market share data. Visionox captured 10.7 percent of global small and mid-size OLED shipments last year but earned just 6.8 percent of revenue.
EverDisplay’s revenue share was less than a third of its shipment share. Over the same period, Samsung held 39.9 percent of shipments and 43.3 percent of revenue.
Industry officials say Korea’s display sector must leverage its profitability advantage to push into next-generation segments—such as laptops and tablets, automotive displays, and extended reality devices—rather than competing in a price war.
“Chinese companies have boosted capacity with strong state support, but low pricing and high fixed costs continue to drag down returns,” one industry executive said. “Korean firms should avoid a race to the bottom and instead win new markets through aggressive investment.”
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
