Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
LG Electronics estimates $75.2 mil. operating loss for 2025 Q4
Visitors flock to LG Electronics' booth for CES 2026 at Las Vegas Convention Center, Tuesday (local time). Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
LG Electronics posted a 109.4 billion won ($75.2 million) operating loss for the fourth quarter of last year, as United States tariffs, seasonal effects and one-off costs incurred by a companywide redundancy program overshadowed improvements in its auto parts business.
The company on Friday released its earnings guidance for the fourth quarter of 2025, projecting sales of 23.85 trillion won and an operating loss of 109.4 billion won.
Revenue increased 4.8 percent from a year earlier, but the company swung to an operating loss from an operating profit of 135.4 billion won in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The estimated operating loss is far greater than brokerages’ consensus forecast of 8.4 billion won, showing that cost burdens weighed heavily on the company’s profitability.
If the numbers are confirmed, LG Electronics will post a quarterly operating loss for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2016.
On a yearly basis, LG Electronics estimated consolidated revenue of 89.2 trillion won, up 1.7 percent from a year earlier, while operating profit fell 27.5 percent to 2.48 trillion won during the same period.
The estimated operating loss was largely attributed to a delayed recovery in demand for display products, the impact of U.S. tariffs and rising marketing expenses amid intensifying competition. The fourth quarter is widely viewed as an off-peak season for TVs and other home appliances, with year-end marketing spending and higher logistics costs affecting the overall performance.
The company said that the guidance also reflected costs related to voluntary retirement programs. To streamline its workforce amid slowing global demand for electronics, LG Electronics rolled out a series of voluntary retirement programs in the second half of last year, which market observers estimate resulted in one-off costs of around 300 billion won.
As Friday’s figures reflect the guidance released ahead of a detailed earnings call later this month, the company did not provide a breakdown of its business divisions’ performances. However, analysts assume that LG Electronics’ home appliance division and TV division suffered operating losses of up to 55 billion won and 330 billion won, respectively.
On the other hand, the company’s auto parts division is expected to have delivered solid results last year. LG Electronics said the unit is estimated to post record revenue and operating profit for 2025, driven by the premium in-vehicle infotainment trend. The company added that rising sales of high value-added products are expected to bolster profitability.