The display industry has two hot days: The reshaping of the global landscape behind the surge in TCL

When TCL Technology led the display industry with a year-on-year increase in net profit of 81%-101%, the decline in performance of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics was particularly eye-catching. Since July, the performance forecasts disclosed by three major global display manufacturers have not only outlined the development trajectory of individual companies, but also reflected the profound changes in the global display industry under the influence of technological iteration, market competition and geopolitics. At a time when the price of large size panels is stabilizing and competition for the high-end oled market is fierce, TCL's bucking growth and the contraction of the Korean duo are rewriting the competitive landscape of the global display industry.​

TCL Technology: Structural growth that takes advantage of the momentum

On July 10, the performance forecast disclosed by TCL Technology showed that it is expected to achieve a net profit of 1.8 billion to 2 billion yuan in the first half of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 81%-101%; the net profit after deducting non-profit is 1.5 billion to 1.65 billion yuan, a year-on-year surge of 168%-195%. The core support of this outstanding report card comes from the explosion of the semiconductor display business. In the first half of the year, the business is expected to achieve a net profit of more than 4.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of more than 70%, becoming the absolute main force of corporate profits.​

Discovering its growth drivers, three key fulcrums can be found: the size display field has benefited from the optimization of the supply-side pattern. The trend of high-end and size has driven the continuous growth of area demand. Although the prices of major products have fluctuated within a narrow range with the peak seasons, they have remained stable overall; T9 production capacity in the size field has climbed smoothly, and IT product sales and revenue have increased significantly, driving continued improvement in business profits; The high-end strategy of OLED business in the small size field has achieved remarkable results, and a number of differentiated products have successfully entered the supply chain of top customers.​

The explosion of TCL Technology's performance is not accidental, but stems from the continuous layout in recent years. In April this year, TCL Huaxing officially took over LGD Guangzhou factory. The original Lejin Display (China) Co., Ltd. was renamed Guangzhou Huaxing Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. and merged into the merger scope in the second quarter. This action not only expanded the production capacity scale, but also absorbed LG's technology accumulation in the field of large size panel. Subsequently, it acquired a 21.5311% stake in Shenzhen Huaxing Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co., Ltd., further strengthening its control over the core links of the industrial chain.​

Industry analyst firm Display Supply Chain Consultants pointed out: The growth of TCL Technology has captured the dividends of the industry cycle. After experiencing a price trough in 2023, the supply and demand relationship of global large size panels will tend to balance in 2025. TCL has transformed its scale advantage into a profit advantage through capacity integration and product structure upgrade. rdquo;​

Korean duo: performance under pressure from inside and outside

In sharp contrast to the rapid advancement of TCL Technology, the display businesses of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are experiencing a cold snap. Samsung Electronics achieved sales of 74 trillion won (approximately RMB 387.01 billion) in the second quarter, a slight decrease of 0.09% year-on-year; operating profit of 4.6 trillion won (approximately RMB 24.057 billion), a year-on-year decline of 55.94%, and a month-on-month decrease of 31.24%, setting the lowest single-quarter profit since the fourth quarter of 2023.​

Samsung attributed the decline in performance to the drag on its chip business, but the performance of its display division (VD business) was also not optimistic. South Korean media expects its display division's operating profit in the second quarter to be only 600 billion to 700 billion won, a month-on-month decrease of more than 50% from the 217 billion won in the first quarter. What is more noteworthy is that Samsung Electronics 'TV division has entered the first emergency management stage since its establishment and is promoting organizational and personnel reorganization. This move has been interpreted as a helpless move to deal with the impact of China competitors.​

LG Electronics is also in a difficult situation. Its revenue in the second quarter was 2.074 trillion won (approximately 108.392 billion yuan), a year-on-year decrease of 4.4%, and a month-on-month decline of 8.8%; its operating profit was 639.1 billion won (approximately 3.35 billion yuan), a year-on-year decrease of 46.6%, and a month-on-month decrease of 49.2%. Its media and entertainment solutions business (mainly including display panels and TVs) was squeezed by slowing demand, rising LCD panel prices and increased competition, which led to increased marketing expenses, which became the main drag on the decline in performance.​

Third-party observers pointed out that the essence of the dilemma of Korean companies is that the high-end market cannot be held and the mid-to-low-end market loses share. China companies such as TCL and BOE have formed cost barriers through scale advantages in the field of large size LCDs, and are rapidly catching up through differentiated products in the field of OLED. Samsung and LG rely too much on the high-end market and bear the brunt of weak demand. rdquo;​

Third-party perspective: The dual game of industrial transfer and geopolitical risks

Behind the performance differentiation between TCL and Korean companies is the long-term trend of the global display industry shifting to China. Data from China Electronic Video Industry Association shows that in the first half of 2025, the share of China companies in the global large size panel market has reached 65%, an increase of 20 percentage points from 2020, of which TCL Huaxing and BOE together account for 50%.​

The competitive advantage of China companies lies not only in the scale of production capacity, but also in the vertical integration ability of the industrial chain. rdquo; A senior display industry analyst said that TCL's entire chain layout from panels to terminal brands allows it to quickly respond to changes in market demand. However, Samsung and LG's panel and terminal businesses are relatively separated and lag behind in the price fluctuation cycle. rdquo;​

However, TCL's high growth also faces hidden concerns. Its semiconductor display business's net profit of 4.6 billion yuan is in sharp contrast to TCL Zhonghuan's losses of-1.2 billion to-1.35 billion yuan, indicating that the company's internal business development is unbalanced. Continued losses in the photovoltaic business may divert resource investment in the display business, and the cyclical fluctuations in the display industry are obvious. Once panel prices fall in the second half of the year, the sustainability of profit growth will be tested.​

Geopolitical factors have added more uncertainty to the global display industry. Former U.S. President Trump announced that he would impose a 25%-40% tariff on imported products from 14 countries including Japan and South Korea starting from August 1, and severely crack down on transshipment evasion by third countries. This will undoubtedly add insult to injury for Samsung and LG. However, some people believe that this may indirectly benefit China companies such as TCL. If the export costs of Korean companies rise, TCL's price competitiveness in the North American market will be further highlighted.​

However, tariff policies may also trigger a chain reaction. ldquo; If South Korean companies transfer production capacity to Southeast Asia due to tariff pressure, it may affect the share of China companies in the mid-to-low-end market. rdquo; The above analyst added that the global display industry has formed a complex supply chain network, and any trade barriers will increase the cost of the entire industry. rdquo;​

Technology track: OLED and LCD's trade-off

It shows that the essence of industry competition is competition in technical routes. TCL's growth mainly relies on the structural optimization of its LCD business. Although Samsung and LG still have advantages in the OLED field, they lack growth momentum. LG Electronics plans to consolidate its position as high-end OLED TVs by launching new wireless products and expand new content areas such as games and digital art to enhance the competitiveness of the webOS platform; Samsung is trying to compete differently with LG's WOLED through QD-OLED technology.​

However, China companies are catching up faster in the OLED field than expected. TCL's small size OLED business has entered the top customer supply chain, while BOE's shipments in the flexible OLED field continue to grow. Counterpoint data shows that in the first half of 2025, the share of China companies in the global OLED mobile phone panel market has reached 38%, an increase of 15 percentage points from 2023.​

LCDs will not be completely replaced by OLEDs, and the cost and life advantages of LCDs in large size markets will still exist for a long time.& rdquo;DisplaySearch pointed out that TCL's strategy has grasped this balance point. While consolidating its advantages in LCD, it has selectively broken through the OLED high-end market. This pragmatic approach is more effective in the current economic environment. rdquo;​

Korean companies face an imbalance between technology investment and market returns. In order to maintain its leading position in QD-OLED technology, Samsung Display invests more than US$1 billion annually in R & D, but market demand growth falls short of expectations; although LG Display's OLED TV panels still account for 70% of the world's share, profits are double squeezed by falling panel prices and rising marketing expenses.​

Future Outlook: The Reconstructing Global Competitive Landscape

The explosion of TCL Technology's performance marks the transformation of China's display companies from scale expansion to quality efficiency. However, to truly surpass Samsung and LG, they still need to make breakthroughs in high-end technology and brand premium. In the second half of the year, TCL needs to cope with the drag of TCL Zhonghuan's losses, and at the same time seize the opportunity of capacity integration after taking over the LGD Guangzhou factory to increase the proportion of high-end products.​

Samsung and LG urgently need to adjust their strategies. Samsung may shrink its non-core business and focus on the synergy between chips and high-end displays;LG can rely on the steady growth of B2B businesses such as automotive solutions to buy time for the transformation of its display business. However, if the impact of Trump's tariff policy is realized, the two companies may accelerate the transfer of production capacity to Mexico and Southeast Asia to avoid trade barriers.​

Competition in the global display industry will become more complex, with technological iteration, production capacity layout and geopolitics intertwined. TCL