Qualcomm, Best Buy knocked off Samsung's top client list

Samsung Electronics added two Chinese suppliers to its top five clients, with Qualcomm and Best Buy falling off the list.

Samsung Electronics' office building in Seocho District, southern Seoul [YONHAP]

Samsung Electronics added two new firms to its list of five top clients, according to its quarterly report announced Thursday.

Its top five clients during the January-March period were Apple, Deutsch Telekom, Techtronics, Supreme Electronics and Verizon, according to the report. Hong Kong-based Techtronics and Singapore-based Supreme Electronics, both of which retail chips in China, have been newly listed.

The five customers accounted for 13 percent of Samsung Electronics’ quarterly revenue.

U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm and electronics retailer Best Buy dropped from the top five ranks.

The change in major clients for Samsung Electronics is expected to have derived from smartphone and home appliances markets, which have long been in downturn, excluding the Chinese market.

Smartphone shipments in China saw 1.5 percent year-over-year growth in the first quarter of 2024, according to Counterpoint Research data.

Smartphone sales in the United States, on the other hand, declined by 8 percent year over year during the cited period.

China accounted for 28.8 percent of Samsung Electronics’ quarterly sales between January and March based on region, an increase from the previous quarter’s 24.8 percent, the report said.

Samsung Electronics expenditures on research and development reached 7.8 trillion won during the first quarter, accounting for 10.9 percent of revenue.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]