Samsung’s mobile business is in ’emergency management’ mode despite Galaxy S26 success

Ben Schoon | Mar 17 2026 - 11:05 am PT

Samsung’s mobile division is facing a rough future, as a new report reveals that the company is in “emergency management” mode despite even the early success of the Galaxy S26 series.

FNNews reports that Samsung is in crisis, with “an emergency management system” active across the mobile (MX) divsion as well as other parts of the company. As had previously been reported, this includes cost-cutting measures such as putting executives in economy class for business travel, as well as looking at voluntary retirement and “internal reassignment” of some jobs.

Samsung’s mobile division could possibly see its first-ever loss, which this report sheds additional light on. Apparently, some forecasts put Samsung mobile operating profit at 5 trillion won in 2026 (around $3.3b USD), down 60% from 2025’s operating profit of 12.9 trillion won (around $8.7b USD) in a decrease of about 60%, but other forecasts do not rule out the possibility of an operating deficit this year. Apparently, operating profit of just 1% “will be difficult to achieve” in the second quarter of 2026, with the first quarter estimated to be at just 3%.

That last point is notable, because the first quarter includes the Galaxy S26 launch which, according to Samsung, beat out last year’s Galaxy S25 launch.

Advertisement - scroll for more content

While the ongoing RAM/storage shortage is expected to hit affordable phones and China-based smartphone brands the most, it’s increasingly clear that Samsung isn’t immune, and that this truly is a crisis like no other for the smartphone market.