The Information Technology 100
5
Samsung Electronics
Few electronics companies have gone through transformations as drastic as that of Samsung Electronics. Best known only a few years back for selling me-too products whose main attraction was low price, the Korean company has remade itself into one of the world's coolest brands. Its success in a string of digital gadgets and in chips has wowed consumers and put rivals around the world on the defensive.
Now, Samsung competes with Intel for leadership in flash memory chips, challenges Sony as the most coveted digital-TV brand, and threatens Nokia's cell-phone dominance with its multifunctioning mobile devices. As of the end of March, 40% of Samsung's 66,586 workers were engaged in R&D activities, with 1 out of every 25 employees holding a PhD. With its net profits topping $10 billion last year, Samsung ranked among the world's most profitable tech companies.
Company Info
| STOCK INFO | NA |
| Revenues* | $71.6 BILLION |
| Revenue Growth | 26.5% |
| Return on Equity | 31.1% |
| Total Return | 13.6% |
| Profits* | $9.4 BILLION |
| Industry | COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS |
| CORPORATE WEB SITE | |
All figures are for the most recent available 12 months.
* Latest available data for the 12-month period ended Dec. 31, Jan. 31, Feb. 29, Mar. 31, or Apr. 30. For companies that do not report quarterly, the most recent annual data were used.
Data provided by Standard & Poor's Compustat, BusinessWeek
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Company Snapshot
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. operates in the electronics industry worldwide. The company’s products are classified into five categories: digital media, telecommunication network, digital appliance, semiconductor, and liquid crystal display (LCD). Its digital media products include camcorders, computers, DVD-players, home theater systems, monitors, MP3 players, personal digital assistants, printers, set-top boxes, and televisions. The company’s telecommunication network products comprise home network systems; mobile phones; mobile intelligent terminals; next generation network infrastructures; office network systems, such as key phones and info mobile systems; and wireless communication infrastructure, which include wideband code division multiple access systems. Samsung Electronics’ digital appliance products consist of air conditioners, microwave ovens, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, and washing machines. Its semiconductor products include complementary metal-oxide semiconductor image sensors, dynamic random access memory, flash memory, hard disk drives, LCD driver integrated circuits, multichip packages, optical disk drives, system in packages, smart cards, system on chips, and static random access memory. The company’s LCD products comprise thin film transistor-LCDs for handheld devices, monitors, notebook personal computers, and televisions. It has strategic alliances with various companies, including Sony, IBM, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, and Dell. Samsung Electronics Co. was established in 1969 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.
No. of Employees
NA
Data provided by 
Jong-Yong Yun
Bio
Jong-Yong Yun has been Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. since 1999 and serves as CEO and Vice-Chairman of Samsung Corp. Mr. Yun served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., since 1996 and served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Samsung Japan Headquarters since 1995. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Samsung Display Devices Co., Ltd., since 1993; President and Chief Executive Officer of Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd., since 1992; President and Representative Director of Consumer Electronics Business Group since 1991; Vice President Representative Director, Consumer Electronics Business Group since 1990 and Vice President of Electronics Group since 1988. He entered The Samsung Group in 1966.