Samsung Electronics is working on artificial intelligence to outpace global growth in smartphones and home appliances

Samsung Electronics plans to expand its in-device artificial intelligence business this year, aiming to outpace global market growth in the consumer electronics segment.

The global consumer electronics market for smartphones, TVs and home appliances will grow by about 3% in 2025, Samsung Electronics CEO Jong-Hee Han told CNBC’s Chery Kang.

Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone and TV maker, expects its mobile device business to grow 4-5% this year, while growth in its TV and home appliance division will also accelerate, said Han, head of eExperience devices. DX) division of Samsung Electronics.

Samsung Electronics has stepped up its efforts integrates its devices with artificial intelligenceinstalls AI chips in its refrigerators, washing machines and robotic vacuum cleaners.

It also powers AI features in premium flagship smartphone models like the Galaxy S24 series. many AI enabled features including real-time translation phone calls in a certain foreign language.

This applies to Chinese brands such as Huawei and Xiaomi emerged as serious competitors to Samsung by offering high-end smartphones at significantly lower prices.

Han, who said competition from Chinese companies is “beneficial” for Samsung and consumers, said in an interview that the company aims to differentiate its products with greater security and convenience rather than lower prices.

Samsung announced Major leadership change in NovemberJun appointed Young-hyun as CEO and head of the memory chip division, sharing leadership duties with Han.

The South Korean tech giant, once a dominant force in the memory chip sector, has fallen behind SK Hynix in the race to supply high-bandwidth memory chips, or HBM chips, a key component for artificial intelligence leader Nvidia.

It was reported that Samsung will present fourth quarter earnings and operating profit forecasts on Wednesday ahead of the release of quarterly results in late January.

Samsung operating profit for the December quarter It is expected to generate 8.2 trillion won ($5.6 billion) in revenue.That was a sharp increase from the 2.8 trillion won it reported a year ago, but down from 9.18 trillion won in the previous quarter, according to Reuters estimates.

In October, June, the head of the semiconductor division, issued a rare apology for the company’s disappointment third quarter performance.

Last year, the South Korean giant’s shares fell 32%, according to LSEG data, outpacing Kospi’s 9.6% loss.

The stock price has “never been this low before,” Han said in an interview, adding that the company has a “value enhancement” plan aimed at increasing shareholder returns. The plan “will be announced one by one when appropriate,” he said, according to a CNBC translation of the statement into Korean.

Phillip Wool, head of research at Rayliant Global Advisors, said in a note on Monday that investors are hoping Samsung will close the gap in HBM and take a more serious approach to its “value enhancement” scheme, buying up 10 trillion won of shares. the plan can help stabilize the stock price.

Company announced his surprise plan in November to buy back about 10 trillion won worth of shares over the next 12 months.

Citi analyst Peter Lee warned in a Dec. 31 note that a longer-than-expected delay in getting Nvidia’s approval for HBM chips and weak PC sales could continue to pose downside risks. He maintained a “buy” rating on the stock while lowering his target price to 83,000 won from 87,000 won.