Australia condemns Israel over closure of Gaza aid worker case
Australia on Thursday condemned Israel’s decision to close its criminal investigation into the deaths of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom ...
Samsung Electronics, the global leader in memory chips, smartphones, and televisions, has released its fourth-quarter operating profit estimate, revealing a significant shortfall compared to analyst expectations. The South Korean tech giant reported an estimated operating profit of 6.5 trillion won.
Samsung's fourth quater results, although a remarkable 131% increase from the same period last year, missed the consensus estimate of 7.7 trillion won, as projected by LSEG SmartEstimate.
The disappointing earnings were attributed to a number of factors, including Samsung’s struggles in the high-end chip market, where it faced fierce competition from rival SK Hynix. The company has been notably lagging behind SK Hynix in supplying premium chips to Nvidia, a key player in the semiconductor industry. Nvidia's demand for advanced chips, particularly those used in data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) applications, has surged in recent months, but Samsung has not kept pace with its competitors.
Samsung's business of designing and contract manufacturing logic chips also experienced a downturn during the quarter. The slowdown in global smartphone demand, combined with lower factory utilization rates and rising research and development costs, contributed to the overall decline in earnings from this segment. These challenges are particularly evident in the mobile industry, where demand has remained sluggish due to economic uncertainties and changing consumer preferences.
While Samsung’s estimated Q4 profit is still substantially higher than last year’s figures, it marks a significant decline of 29% from the previous quarter. This drop in earnings highlights the ongoing challenges faced by Samsung’s semiconductor business, which has long been a major driver of the company's overall profitability. The slowdown in chip demand, coupled with intense competition from other memory chipmakers, has put pressure on Samsung's market position in recent months.
Despite the disappointing earnings report, Samsung’s shares initially dropped by 1% in early trading following the announcement. However, they later rebounded and rose more than 1%, suggesting that investors remain cautiously optimistic about the company's future prospects, particularly in the long term.
Samsung's ability to regain momentum in its semiconductor business will be crucial to its overall performance in 2025. As competition in the chip industry intensifies, Samsung will need to adapt to changing market dynamics and invest in new technologies to stay competitive. The company’s ability to meet the growing demand for high-end chips, especially those used in AI and data centers, will play a pivotal role in shaping its financial outlook in the coming months.
The collective-defence agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signals that regional powers no longer want to rely solely on external security guarantees. Whether it becomes a stabilising deterrent or another axis of rivalry remains unresolved.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed, according to the latest data, as uncertainty over the waterway’s reopening kept most shipowners away. Six commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, down from nine the day before and below the 10-day daily average of 11.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils the terms of an interim deal, including lifting the maritime blockade and sanctions and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 19th of August, covering the latest developments.
Once associated mainly with Muslim-majority countries, Islamic finance has become a global industry. Its assets reached around $5.98 trillion in 2025, according to ICD–LSEG, as more countries explore Shariah-compliant finance.
Fuel restrictions have returned to parts of Moscow and the surrounding region, adding another strain to Russia’s economy as refinery outages and rising imports weigh on the rouble.
Azerbaijan exported goods worth $17.372 million to Armenia between January and July 2026, according to data from the State Customs Committee, as commercial ties between the two South Caucasus neighbours showed signs of expansion.
Online fast-fashion platform Shein lost a London copyright lawsuit against rival Temu on Thursday over photographs used to promote some products.
Norway’s $2.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund has revealed a 0.05 per cent stake in SpaceX worth $1.22 billion, marking its first reported holding in Elon Musk’s space company.
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