Samsung Q2 Revenues Fall Short on Softening Smartphone Demand
Has Samsung seen its best days? It's far too early to tell, though some analysts are at least entertaining the question of whether or not the South Korean handset maker has peaked after a somewhat disappointing quarter. Samsung missed modest expectations for its quarterly earnings guidance, which was partially due to slowed sales of its Galaxy phone line.
Investors are getting antsy. Shares of Samsung dropped 3 percent on Friday following news of the missed guidance, and they're down 17 percent since early June. In doing so, Samsung's market capitalization has dropped 39 trillion won, or $34.2 billion.
Jung Sang-jin, a fund manager at Dongbu Asset Management and owner of Samsung stock, doesn't believe the company's smartphone story is over.
"I think Samsung has some exciting stuff up its sleeves," Sang-jin told Reuters. "The problem is no one is sure whether these products can really wow investors and consumers.
Therein lies a big problem for Samsung. In competing with Apple, and doing a great job at it, Samsung now faces some of the same challenges as its Cupertino rival. Consumers expect to be blown away by each new product launch, and it's increasingly difficult to knock their socks off, especially when already working with thin profit margins. And as far as investors go, if you sneeze in the wrong direction, panic sets in and they start dumping stock.
Investors are getting antsy. Shares of Samsung dropped 3 percent on Friday following news of the missed guidance, and they're down 17 percent since early June. In doing so, Samsung's market capitalization has dropped 39 trillion won, or $34.2 billion.
Jung Sang-jin, a fund manager at Dongbu Asset Management and owner of Samsung stock, doesn't believe the company's smartphone story is over.
"I think Samsung has some exciting stuff up its sleeves," Sang-jin told Reuters. "The problem is no one is sure whether these products can really wow investors and consumers.
Therein lies a big problem for Samsung. In competing with Apple, and doing a great job at it, Samsung now faces some of the same challenges as its Cupertino rival. Consumers expect to be blown away by each new product launch, and it's increasingly difficult to knock their socks off, especially when already working with thin profit margins. And as far as investors go, if you sneeze in the wrong direction, panic sets in and they start dumping stock.
