Northeast Securities: Domestic OLED manufacturers have received global certification for their competitiveness, recommended panel leader TCL Technology (000100.SZ), etc.

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Northeast Securities released a research report saying that Samsung is actively preparing the A57 phone to be released in 2026, and plans to use Samsung Display and OLED screens produced by TCL Huaxing at the same time. It is significant for Chinese OLED manufacturers to enter Samsung's mobile phone supply chain. Judging from the recent patent settlement between BOE and Samsung, Chinese manufacturers have gotten rid of their dependence on overseas technology, and will win the favor of overseas customers in the future with their cost and innovation advantages. In the future, as overseas customer shipments increase, the profit level of domestic OLED panel manufacturers will improve significantly. Domestic panel faucets BOE A (000725.SZ) and TCL Technology (000100.SZ) are recommended.

The main views of Northeast Securities are as follows:

Incidents

On December 30, the consulting agency CINNO published an article stating that Samsung is considering purchasing OLED screens manufactured by BOE for its latest S series flagship phone. South Korean media Thelec reports that Samsung is actively preparing for the A57 phone to be released in 2026, and plans to use OLED screens produced by Samsung Display and TCL Huaxing at the same time. This decision broke the situation where Samsung Display has exclusively supplied A-series OLED screens over the past few years, and has become a milestone event for the first time that a domestic panel manufacturer has entered Samsung's main mid-range model supply chain.

It is significant for Chinese OLED manufacturers to enter Samsung's mobile phone supply chain

Samsung has been the number one smartphone shipment volume and market share in the world for a long time. In Q3 (IDC data), the shipment volume in Q3 (IDC data) was 61.4 million units, an increase of 6.3% over the previous year, and the market share reached 19%, ranking first in the world. The low-end A series contributed about 70% of sales, and the high-end S series+Z folding strengthened its position as a flagship and innovation benchmark. Previously, OLED screens for Samsung phones were mainly supplied by SDC within the group. There are two main reasons for this cooperation with Chinese OLED manufacturers: First, Samsung wants to further reduce production costs. Prices of key components such as processors, camera sensors, and memory have risen in recent times. Samsung is making efforts to cut production costs so that its latest devices do not experience a sharp price increase; second, the competitive advantage of Chinese OLED panel manufacturers has soared. In recent years, Chinese panel manufacturers have built a “production capacity+technology+supply chain” synergy advantage, and their core competitiveness has improved markedly. On December 30, BOE unveiled China's first 8.6-generation AMOLED production line ahead of schedule, setting a new milestone in high-end mid-size OLEDs in the world. Judging from the recent patent settlement between BOE and Samsung, Chinese manufacturers have gotten rid of their dependence on overseas technology and will win the favor of overseas customers in the future with their cost and innovation advantages.

The rise in overseas customer shipments will fundamentally change the domestic OLED competition pattern

Previously, domestic manufacturers mostly focused on the local market, and competition focused on expanding production capacity on price games. According to data from consulting agency CINNO, the price of 6.7-inch flexible OLED screens (Holes) dropped all the way from $46 in May 2022 to $21.5 in November 2025. According to the bank's estimates of domestic supply and demand, domestic OLED production capacity is currently over 20%. Looking at the global smartphone market, shipments of high-end screens, mainly based on LTPO backpanel technology, are mainly concentrated in Apple and Samsung customer products, accounting for more than 70% in total. Chinese OLED manufacturers can only increase shipments through roll prices for local customers, and increase the penetration rate of OLED in the mobile phone market through continuous price cuts. Entering the Samsung mobile phone supply chain this time will gradually improve the domestic OLED supply and demand pattern. In the future, as overseas customer shipments increase, the profit level of domestic OLED panel manufacturers will improve significantly.

Risk warning: Overseas customer shipments fall short of expectations, procurement volume from domestic panel manufacturers falls short of expectations