The profit gap between Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor has widened to over 40 times in the third quarter, highlighting a stark disparity in profit generation among major companies. The traditional manufacturing principle, where increased assets and facilities lead to proportional profits, is collapsing in the face of the AI wave.
According to industry reports, Samsung Electronics announced on October 29 that its third-quarter revenue reached 195.25 trillion won ($145 billion), with an operating profit of 107.44 trillion won ($81 billion). The semiconductor division accounted for 147.1 trillion won in revenue and 106.5 trillion won in operating profit, representing 99% of the company's total operating profit. The operating profit margin stood at 72.4%. In contrast, Hyundai Motor reported revenue of 45.11 trillion won ($33.5 billion) and an operating profit of 2.68 trillion won ($2.2 billion), with a margin of just 5.9%.
In the Fair Trade Commission's ranking of large corporate groups by total assets, Samsung Group ranked first with 695.79 trillion won, 2.2 times larger than Hyundai Group, which ranked third at 320.84 trillion won. While the asset gap is about double, the profit gap among key affiliates has exceeded 40 times.
SK Hynix also reported an operating profit of 83.33 trillion won ($62 billion) with a margin of 79.7% for the third quarter. The cumulative operating profit for the first three quarters reached 181.49 trillion won, nearing last year's total assets of approximately 195 trillion won.
This shift is attributed to increased investments in AI infrastructure. The structure has changed so that companies holding limited-supply products, rather than those with large asset bases, are reaping the profits.
While Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are achieving operating profit margins in the 70% range, Hyundai has lowered its annual operating profit margin target from 6.3-7.3% to 5.5-6.5%. LG Electronics reported an operating profit of 781.9 billion won ($590 million) in the third quarter, with a margin of only 3.3%.
Analysts expect strong semiconductor demand to continue into the fourth quarter. Some sectors, particularly semiconductors benefiting from the AI era, are experiencing significant profit rallies, further deepening the 'K-shaped polarization' within the business community.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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