By Kwanwoo Jun
LG Electronics expects a quarterly operating loss for the first time in nine years, hampered by challenges from a sluggish recovery in demand for home appliances, televisions and other electronics amid intensified competition.
The South Korean consumer-electronics giant is also wrestling with higher tariffs and increased restructuring costs while it strives to nurture new business growth.
The company said in a preliminary earnings report Friday that it likely swung to an operating loss of 109.40 billion won, equivalent to $75.3 million, for the October-December period from an operating profit of 135.40 billion won a year earlier. That would be its first quarterly loss since the final quarter of 2016.
The projected loss missed a FactSet-compiled consensus estimate of 7.86 billion won in operating profit for the final quarter of 2025.
Revenue is expected to have risen 4.8% to 23.854 trillion won for the quarter, LG Electronics said.
For 2025, revenue likely rose 1.7% to 89.203 trillion won, while operating profit is estimated to have slumped 28% to 2.478 trillion won, according to the company.
Shares in LG Electronics have declined about 4% this year after gaining 10% in 2025, underperforming the benchmark Kospi index, which has risen around 8% in 2026 after surging 76% last year.
The company is scheduled to release its full quarterly results later this month.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-08-26 2128ET
