Samsung swot analysis 2018 reveals company's internal strengths and weaknesses as well as external opportunities and threats.

1. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS
SWOT ANALYSIS 2018

2. ABOUT SAMSUNG
Name Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Logo
Industries served
• Consumer electronics (digital cameras, camcorders, TVs, blu-rays, laptops,
home theaters, displays, tablets)
• Telecommunications equipment (phones, smartphones)
• Semiconductors (DRAM, V-NAND, SSD, UFC)
Geographic areas served Worldwide (79 countries)
Headquarters Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
Current CEO
Kinam Kim (Device Solutions), Hyunsuk Kim (Consumer Electronics), Dongjin Koh
(IT and Mobile Communications)
Revenue (US$) 211.812 billion (2017) 18.7% 178.473 billion (2016)
Profit (US$) 37.298 billion (2017) 85.6% 20.092 billion (2016)
Employees 308,745 (2017)
Main Competitors
Apple Inc., Nokia Oyj, Intel Corporation, LG Display and LG Electronics, Sony
Corporation, Texas Instruments Inc., Lenovo Group Limited, Hewlett-Packard
Company, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Toshiba Corporation, SK Hynix Inc., Western
Digital Corporation and many other consumer electronics, telecommunications
equipment, semiconductor and home appliance companies.

3. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (further Samsung), a part of the Samsung Group,
is the world’s second largest technology company by revenue. The company
produces:
• Consumer Electronics
• Telecommunications Equipment
• Semiconductors
• Home Appliances
The company is the world’s largest mobile phone and smartphone vendor. It is
also the largest memory chip and TV manufacturer. Samsung operates in 80
countries, where it sells a range of more than 100 products.
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BUSINESS DESCRIPTION (1/2)
“ ”

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BUSINESS DESCRIPTION (2/2)
Samsung operates 3 business divisions

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STRENGTHS
1. Very high research and development (R&D) expenditure resulting in one of the strongest
patent portfolios among technology companies
Innovation is crucial to
succeeding in the
technology sector.
Usually, the more a
business invests in
R&D, the more
innovations it creates.
R&D spending by Samsung and its largest competitors (in US$ billions and percentages)
S W
O T
Company 2016
As a % of
revenues
2017
As a % of
revenues
Samsung
Electronics
13.079 7.3 14.857 7
Apple 10.045 4.7 11.581 5.1
Microsoft 11.989 14.1 13.037 14.5
Intel 12.128 21.9 13.098 20.7
Amazon.com 12.540 11.7 22.620 12.7
LG Electronics 2.183 4.5 2.110 3.9

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STRENGTHS
• In 2017, Samsung’s investment in
R&D was the 2nd largest among
technology companies only
behind Amazon.com
• Samsung’s high R&D spending
has resulted in it developing the
largest patent portfolio among its
key rivals.
Utility patents granted in the U.S.
• The more patents a company has, the better position it is in to defend its innovations from
being copied by rivals. Currently, Samsung’s patents portfolio is one of the strongest in the
technology industry.
S W
O T
Company 2014 2015 2016 Total
Samsung
Electronics
4,936 5,059 5,504 15,499
Apple 2,003 1,937 2,101 6,041
Microsoft 2,829 2,408 2,398 7,635
Intel 1,573 2,046 2,779 6,398
Amazon.com 741 1,136 1,662 3,539
LG Electronics 2,119 2,241 2,426 6,786

7. 1. Too many smartphone models
Samsung has released more new smartphones models in 2017 than its
competitors.
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WEAKNESSES
21
new models
10
new models
23
new models
3
new models
Having too many smartphone models lowers economies of scales and increases costs.
S W
O T

8. 1. Introduce a separate low-end smartphone brand to counter the expansion of
OPPO and Xiaomi smartphones
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OPPORTUNITIES
Samsung’s worldwide
smartphone market
share plunged to just
18.9% in 2017, one of
the lowest levels in 5
years.
S W
O T

9. Android
85.1%
iOS
14.7%
Windows Phone
0.1%
Others
0.1%
1. Smartphones using Android OS are becoming a commodity, which could
impact the company’s gross margins
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THREATS
Worldwide smartphone OS market share (in percentages)• 85% of all smartphones use Android OS;
• Samsung is only one of many smartphone
vendors using the same Android OS;
• Hardware no longer offers any
differentiation;
• In the long-term, Samsung won’t be able
to differentiate its smartphones if using
Android OS.
S W
O T

10. SLIDE | 10
GET THE FULL
PRESENTATION
BUY SAMSUNG
ELECTRONICS SWOT
2018

11. 1. Samsung Electronics (2018). Annual Report. Available at:
http://images.samsung.com/is/content/samsung/p5/global/ir/docs/2017_con_quarter04_all.pdf Accessed May 10, 2018
2. Apple, Inc. (2017). Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2017. Available at:
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AAPL/2456063358x8143945x913905/66363059-7FB6-4710-B4A5-7ABFA14CF5E6/10-
K_2016_9.24.2016_-_as_filed.pdf Accessed May 10, 2018
3. Microsoft (2018). 2017 Annual Report. Available at: https://www.microsoft.com/investor/reports/ar17/index.html Accessed May 10, 2018
4. Intel (2018). Annual Report 2017. Available at: http://s22.q4cdn.com/548661872/files/doc_downloads/Intel_Annual_Report_Final-3.20.pdf
Accessed May 10, 2018
5. Amazon.com (2018). Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2017. Available at: http://phx.corporate-
ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97664&p=irol-sec Accessed May 10, 2018
6. LG Electronics (2018). Consolidated Financial Statements December 31, 2017 and 2016. Available at: http://www.lg.com/global/investor-
relations/reports Accessed May 10, 2018
7. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (2015). Patenting by Organizations 2014. Available at:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/topo_14.htm Accessed May 10, 2018
8. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (2016). Patenting by Organizations 2015. Available at:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/topo_15.htm Accessed May 10, 2018
9. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (2017). Patenting by Organizations 2016. Available at:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/topo_16.htm Accessed May 10, 2018
10.Statista (2018). Global market share held by LCD TV manufacturers from 2008 to 2017. Available at:
http://www.statista.com/statistics/267095/global-market-share-of-lcd-tv-manufacturers/ Accessed May 10, 2018
11.Statista (2018). Global market share held by NAND Flash memory manufacturers worldwide from 2010 to 2017. Available at:
http://www.statista.com/statistics/275886/market-share-held-by-leading-nand-flash-memory-manufacturers-worldwide Accessed May 10, 2018
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SOURCES (1/3)

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SOURCES (2/3)
12.IDC (2018). Apple Passes Samsung to Capture the Top Position in the Worldwide Smartphone Market While Overall Shipments Decline 6.3%
in the Fourth Quarter, According to IDC. Available at: https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS43548018 Accessed May 10, 2018
13.Interbrand (2018). Best Global Brands 2017. Available at: http://interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-brands/2017/ranking/ Accessed May
10, 2018
14.Forbes (2018). The World’s Most Valuable Brands. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list Accessed May 10, 2018
15.Interbrand (2001). Best Global Brands 2000. Available at: http://interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-brands/2000/ranking/ Accessed May
10, 2018
16.Interbrand (2006). Best Global Brands 2005. Available at: http://interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-brands/2005/ranking/ Accessed May
10, 2018
17.Interbrand (2011). Best Global Brands 2010. Available at: http://interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-brands/2010/ranking/ Accessed May
10, 2018
18.Interbrand (2016). Best Global Brands 2015. Available at: http://interbrand.com/best-brands/best-global-brands/2015/ranking/ Accessed May
10, 2018
19.Samsung (2017). Samsung Honored for Outstanding Design and Engineering with 36 CES 2018 Innovation Awards. Available at:
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-honored-for-outstanding-design-and-engineering-with-36-ces-2018-innovation-awards Accessed
May 10, 2018
20.Samsung (2017). IDEA Design Awards 2017. Available at: http://design.samsung.com/global/contents/news/index.jsp?id=16 Accessed May 10,
2018
21.IDSA (2018). IDEA Gallery. Available at: http://www.idsa.org/awards/idea/gallery Accessed May 10, 2018
22.Samsung (2018). Samsung Recognized for EPA Green Power Leadership. Available at: https://news.samsung.com/us/2018-samsung-epa-
green-power-leadership/ Accessed May 10, 2018
23.Ogura, K. (2016). Samsung's leaner, faster approach to smartphones pays off. Available at: http://asia.nikkei.com/magazine/20160505-
DEMOCRACY-DEFERRED/Business/Samsung-s-leaner-faster-approach-to-smartphones-pays-off Accessed May 10, 2018

13. 24.GSM Arena (2018). Samsung Phones. Available at: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung-phones-9.php Accessed May 10, 2018
25.IDC (2018). Smartphone Vendor. Available at: https://www.idc.com/promo/smartphone-market-share/vendor Accessed May 10, 2018
26.Gartner (2018). Internet of Things. Available at: http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/internet-of-things/ Accessed May 10, 2018
27.Statista (2018). Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices installed base worldwide from 2015 to 2025 (in billions). Available at:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/471264/iot-number-of-connected-devices-worldwide/ Accessed May 10, 2018
28.Markets and Markets (2017). Internet of Things (IoT) Market by Software Solution, Service, Platform, Application Area, and Region - Global Forecast to
2022. Available at: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/internet-of-things-market-573.html Accessed May 10, 2018
29.Technavio (2017). Global Wireless Chipset Market 2017-2021. Available at: https://www.technavio.com/report/global-semiconductor-equipment-global-
wireless-chipset-market Accessed May 10, 2018
30.Markets and Markets (2017). Wi-Fi Chipset Market by IEEE Standards, Band, MIMO Configuration, Product Category, and Geography - Global Forecast to
2022. Available at: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/wi-fi-chipset-market-42186393.html Accessed May 10, 2018
31.Research and Markets (2018). Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Market by Offering, Device Type, Application, and Geography - Global Forecast to
2023. Available at: https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/dm5djr/augmented_reality?w=4 Accessed May 10, 2018
32.Markets and Markets (2017). Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market - Global Forecast to 2023. Available at: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-
Reports/intelligent-virtual-assistant-market-184337393.html Accessed May 10, 2018
33.IDC (2018). Smartphone OS. Available at: http://www.idc.com/promo/smartphone-market-share/os Accessed May 10, 2018
34.Statista (2018). Global smartphone shipments forecast from 2010 to 2021 (in million units). Available at: http://www.statista.com/statistics/263441/global-
smartphone-shipments-forecast/ Accessed May 10, 2018
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SOURCES (3/3)