LG Electronics (066570.KS) Q1 2026: Profit Jumps 33% on TV Comeback
MS unit swings to ₩372 billion gain and Innotek profit doubles, but HVAC retreats 39% just as the AI data-center cooling narrative was supposed to take hold.
Source: Q1 2026 Quarterly Report — Filed May 15, 2026 with DART | Consolidated Financial Statements | Unit: ₩ billions
LG Electronics posted Q1 2026 revenue of ₩23.73 trillion and operating profit of ₩1.6737 trillion, lifting both the top and bottom lines well above the year-ago quarter. The 32.9% jump in operating profit, however, masks an unusually wide spread between divisions: the MS unit (TVs and IT) — which mustered only ₩4.9 billion of operating profit in Q1 2025 and lost ₩750.9 billion for the full year FY2025 — vaulted to a ₩371.8 billion gain, and LG Innotek more than doubled its operating profit, while the ES (HVAC) division, recently touted as the company's lead horse in AI data-center cooling, retreated 38.9%. With global appliance demand softening, U.S. tariff policy in flux, and memory prices climbing simultaneously, LG Electronics looks to be entering the early stage of a cyclical rebound rather than a clean breakout.
