LG Electronics' Q2 profit halves as US tariffs bite

Its automotive electronics unit cushioned the blow with profit growth

LG Group's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul
LG Group's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul
Yeonhee Kim 1
2025-07-07 16:29:48 yhkim@hankyung.com
Earnings

Earnings at LG Electronics Inc. nearly halved in the second quarter after the Trump administration's tariff hikes pushed up raw material costs, making its products more expensive.

The South Korean home appliances giant ramped up marketing spending to counter soft demand, while conflicts in the Middle East led to higher logistics costs, the company said on Monday.

Its operating profit decreased 46.6% to 639.1 billion won ($467 million) in the April-June quarter from the year prior on a consolidated basis.

Compared with the previous quarter, profit tumbled 49.2%, missing the market consensus of 753.3 billion won, according to Yonhap Infomax.

Revenue edged down 4.4% on-year to 20.74 trillion won in the second quarter. Quarter on quarter, it dropped 8.8%.

Bucking the trend, its automotive electronics business posted year-on-year gains in both operating profit and revenue as LG Group pushes to foster in-vehicle systems as a key growth pillar.

Washington imposed a 10% universal tariff on imports effective in April, following steel and aluminum tariffs introduced in March. The moves undermined its price competitiveness in the US and drove up raw material costs. 

LG Electronics' smart TV with WebOS
LG Electronics' smart TV with WebOS

Looking ahead, LG said it will focus on quality-based growth led by business-to-business (B2B), subscription-based services and software sales as it aims to transform into a platform-based tech giant.

As part of its push into the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) products market, a key B2B segment, LG recently acquired OSO Hotwater, one of Europe’s top providers of water heating solutions.

"In the second half, we will solidify our OLED TV leadership with new wireless products, while enhancing the competitiveness of our webOS smart TV platform through expanded content offerings in gaming and art," LG said in a statement.

The world's largest OLED TV maker aims to strengthen its position in the premium TV market with upgrades to its proprietary webOS smart TV operating platform, brighter OLED TV displays and an advanced wireless video transmission system.

LG will release divisional results for the second quarter on July 25.

Write to Yeonhee Kim at yhkim@hankyung.com

LG Group executives to meet with Honda CEO to explore partnership

LG Group executives to meet with Honda CEO to explore partnership

The interior of a car equipped with LG's infotainment system LG Group is accelerating its efforts to build a partnership with Honda Motor Co. as South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate beefs up its automotive electronics portfolio in line with the automobile industry’s shift toward soft

Samsung's Q2 profit seen weaker, bottoming out in H2

Samsung's Q2 profit seen weaker, bottoming out in H2

Samsung is set to release its latest foldable phone models – Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip 7 – on July 8 Samsung Electronics Co. is likely to deliver weaker-than-expected results for the second quarter, with operating profit estimated to decline by more than 15% from the first quarter, w

LG Electronics acquires Norway’s OSO in bold HVAC expansion

LG Electronics acquires Norway’s OSO in bold HVAC expansion

(Courtesy of LG Electronics)  LG Electronics Inc., South Korea’s leading electronics company, is doubling down on its bid to lead the burgeoning global heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) market with OSO Hotwater, one of Europe’s top providers of water heating solu

LG Electronics poised to extend OLED TV market lead into 2025  

LG Electronics poised to extend OLED TV market lead into 2025  

LG OLED TV (Courtesy of LG Electronics)  LG Electronics Inc. is on track to retain its lead in the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TV market for the 13th consecutive year, bolstered by strong first-quarter sales and rising demand for ultra-large-sized OLED TVs. The South Korean electro

LG Electronics breaks ground on $600 mn home appliance plant in India

LG Electronics breaks ground on $600 mn home appliance plant in India

A rendered image of LG Electronics’ envisioned new home appliance plant in Sri City, India (Courtesy of LG) South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. has broken ground on its third home appliance manufacturing plant in India with a $600 million investment to expand its production footprint

US auto parts tariffs take effect; Korea avoids heavy hit

US auto parts tariffs take effect; Korea avoids heavy hit

Cars lined up for loading onto ships at a port in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Provice (Courtesy of Yonhap) The US has eased tariffs on automotive parts that took effect on May 3, offering a sigh of relief to South Korean suppliers, who said a worst-case scenario under the US tariff policy has been avo

LG Electronics eyes India IPO delay, says plan in flux

LG Electronics eyes India IPO delay, says plan in flux

LG Electronics India's call center staff consultants (Courtesy of LG Electronics)  LG Electronics Inc. is mulling putting off an initial public offering of its wholly owned subsidiary in India amid growing volatility in the global financial market due to concerns over US tariff-triggered e

LG Electronics restarts home appliance plant in Russia

LG Electronics restarts home appliance plant in Russia

LG Electronics' built-in home appliance product line-up  LG Electronics Inc. has resumed operations at its home appliance plant in Russia amid prospects of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, signaling a return of South Korea’s companies to the market after nearly three years.Its

LG Electronics secures control of Bear Robotics

LG Electronics secures control of Bear Robotics

Bear Robotics' delivery robots Servi Plus LG Electronics Inc. has secured control of Bear Robotics Inc., a service robot developer, by raising its stake to 51% from 21% as it aims to expand its robotics business across commercial, industrial and home services.The South Korean home appliance mak

LG Electronics bets big on humanoid robots: CEO Cho

LG Electronics bets big on humanoid robots: CEO Cho

AI agent Q9 on display during the LG Electronics media day press conference at CES 2025 (Courtesy of Yonhap)  LAS VEGAS – South Korea’s top home appliance maker LG Electronics Inc. has thrown down the gauntlet to frontrunners in the AI robot race by developing its original huma

LG Electronics to retire about $50 mn treasury stock in 2025

LG Electronics to retire about $50 mn treasury stock in 2025

Cho Joo-wan will stay on as CEO in 2025 after LG Group's year-end reshuffle LG Electronics Inc. will retire 761,000 shares in 2025, or around 0.5% of its outstanding shares, to increase shareholder returns, the South Korean company said on Wednesday. The treasury stock to be canceled is worth 7

LG Electronics rises to global prominence in HVAC segment, ranks fifth

LG Electronics rises to global prominence in HVAC segment, ranks fifth

LG Electronics' air conditioning system LG Electronics Inc., a leading South Korean home appliance maker, has emerged as one of the world’s top five players in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) market, driven by its focus on large-size chillers.According to industry sou

LG Electronics accelerates foray into private 5G service

LG Electronics accelerates foray into private 5G service

Automated guided vehicles run on LG Electronics' private 5G network (Courtesy of LG Electronics)  LG Electronics Inc.'s push to expand its presence in the burgeoning private 5G network market is poised to gain traction. The South Korean electronics giant announced on Sunday that it will bu

LG Electronics to venture into food waste disposer market

LG Electronics to venture into food waste disposer market

A food waste disposer that LG Electronics is set to launch in 2025 LG Electronics Inc., the world's largest home appliance maker, will foray into the food waste disposer market in the first quarter of 2025, heralding a shake-up in the sector led by small electronics companies, according to indu

LG Electronics eyes growth potential in US auto parts market

LG Electronics eyes growth potential in US auto parts market

Jaguar EV equipped with LG Electronics' in-vehicle infotainment system LG Electronics Inc. is aggressively expanding its automobile components business in the North American market – a move that is expected to help turn around the loss-making business in the third quarter at the earliest.

(* comment hide *}