This photo, provided by LG Display Co., shows the company’s booth at the Society for Information Display 2025 trade shows held in the U.S. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — LG Display is on track to post its first annual profit in four years, buoyed by a sweeping shift toward organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology and a sustained focus on cost efficiency.
Analysts expect the company to report an operating profit exceeding 800 billion won ($580 million) this year, marking a sharp turnaround after years of losses.
According to consensus estimates compiled by Yonhap Infomax from seven securities firms, LG Display’s operating profit for the third quarter of 2025 is projected at 452.2 billion won, with a similar result anticipated for the fourth quarter.
That would return the company to annual profitability for the first time since 2021, when it recorded 2.23 trillion won in operating income.
LG Display 4th Generation OLED Panel Technology Briefing Session (Image provided by LG Display)
A Strategic Pivot to IT and Premium OLEDs
Industry observers credit LG Display’s recovery to its rapid reorientation from large OLED TV panels to smaller, higher-margin OLED displays used in smartphones, tablets, and IT devices. While the company pioneered large OLED TV panels in 2013, waning television demand and an explosion in mobile OLED use had left it struggling to stay competitive.
Since last year, however, LG Display has expanded its share in Apple’s iPhone supply chain and strengthened its position in high-value segments such as low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) OLED — a premium display technology known for higher resolution and lower power consumption, widely used in flagship smartphones and smartwatches.
LG Display OLED plant in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. (Image courtesy of LG Display)
Market research firm Omdia reported that LG Display’s OLED revenue jumped from $8.6 billion in 2022 to $13.1 billion in 2024, lifting its global market share to 24.1 percent, up four percentage points year-on-year. By contrast, Samsung Display’s share fell from 52.5 percent to 42.3 percent, while China’s BOE edged up only one point to 15.2 percent.
Omdia projects that LG Display will hold 26.3 percent of the global LTPO OLED market by revenue this year, ranking second after Samsung Display (47.7 percent).
Streamlining and Future Investment
LG Display plans to invest 1.26 trillion won in OLED innovation through 2027, focusing on upgrading production lines at its Paju complex to develop next-generation panels for future iPhones. The company’s ongoing restructuring drive — including multiple rounds of voluntary retirements — has also improved efficiency. Its domestic workforce has declined from 29,272 in 2022 to 25,057 as of the second quarter of this year.
Analysts expect the momentum to continue into 2026. “Three years of internal restructuring and cost reduction are now translating into steady profit recovery,” said Park Kang-ho, an analyst at Daishin Securities. “LG Display’s growing share in Apple’s supply chain, increased LTPO panel shipments, and leadership in smartwatch OLEDs will sustain earnings growth.”
LG Display is set to release its final third-quarter results on October 30. If the projections hold, it will mark a significant milestone in the company’s transition from a loss-making TV panel producer to a profitable supplier of advanced OLED displays for the AI-driven device era.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
