Episode
LG Display Stock: First Profit in 5 Years — So Why Did It Hit a 52-Week Low? (LPL)
- Published
- Jul 25, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 924
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Summary
LG Display (LPL) Q2 2026 — LG Display (LPL), the Korean maker of the OLED panels inside your TV and a huge share of the world's iPhones, reported Q2 2026: revenue of KRW 5.61 trillion (~$3.8B, +1% QoQ), an operating loss of KRW 108B (~-$73M) and a net loss of KRW 419B (~-$283M) — but the loss was driven by a one-off voluntary-retirement charge, and the first HALF of 2026 was profitable, its first H1 profit in 5 years. OLED is now 57% of revenue. The stock fell ~6% to a 52-week low near $3.17. The catch: ~$8.7B of net debt vs a $3.2B market cap, and free cash flow is still negative. It trades at ~0.7x book. Our call: HOLD, 3/5 — a leveraged OLED turnaround, cheap but unproven; fair value ~$3.75. LG Display is a genuine contradiction. For years it was a commodity LCD maker getting crushed by Chinese price wars — three straight years of losses and a balance sheet buried under debt. Now it's pivoted hard to premium OLED (57% of revenue, up from ~40%) and is one of only two companies on earth (with Samsung Display) qualified to supply the OLED panels in Apple's iPhones. Q2 2026 was messy on the surface — revenue KRW 5.61T (~$3.8B), an operating loss of KRW 108B and a net loss of KRW 419B (~-$283M) — but that loss came almost entirely from a one-off voluntary-retirement charge; ex-charge it would have been operating-profitable, and the first HALF of 2026 was profitable, LG Display's first H1 profit in five years (since 2021). Area shipments rose 12% QoQ and management guided Q3 shipments up mid-single-digits. Yet the stock fell ~6% on the print to a 52-week low near $3.17, trading at just ~0.7x book value. The overhang is the balance sheet: ~$8.7B of net debt against a $3.2B market cap (net debt ~2.7x equity) and still-negative free cash flow. That leverage means the equity…