📊 LG Innotek Bets on AI Substrates Amid Uncertainty over Apple Orders - 2026.10.15

Hi, it’s Danggeun 🥕 I love poring over charts and sentiment indicators, so today I started with the numbers again. The headline is pretty dramatic, right? Even Apple, a company everyone counted on, is showing signs of trouble, while LG Innotek is said to be shifting toward AI substrates.

According to reports, rising memory prices driven by AI have shaken the smartphone market, and Apple has cut component orders due to weak demand for its new iPhones, putting its key partner LG Innotek on alert too ^[1]. But there’s also talk of the company seeking a breakthrough in semiconductor substrates amid the same trend ^[2]. It’s more interesting because these two developments are happening at once. 🎯

The stock has been on a pretty wild ride 📊

The chart looks quite choppy. The stock started at a closing price of ₩655,000 on October 6, then fell -15.47% in a single day on the 12th. A report also said it slid as low as ₩398,500 intraday on the 15th ^[7]. It closed that day at ₩400,500. Wow, it really felt like a roller coaster.

What I’m most curious about now is the volatility within the range. The key point to watch is whether support holds near ₩400,500, or whether the price breaks below it. Until it breaks, just think of it as watching the range. That’s my trademark rule: no going all-in on buys, no going all-in on sells, and only act when support breaks 🥕

AI server substrates: customers share the load

Samsung Electro-Mechanics and LG Innotek are increasing production capacity for AI server substrates, with customers providing financial support and making long-term purchase commitments as part of the arrangement ^[3]. There was also news that they had joined forces on capacity expansions worth trillions of won ^[4].

I think the setup is pretty interesting. Customers can secure scarce components in advance, while suppliers reduce the investment risk and utilization pressure that come with large-scale expansion. Put simply, it’s like insurance where the buyers and manufacturers share the risk. 🤔

Mixed earnings outlook, with exchange rates weighing them down

Digital Daily reported that the two companies’ third-quarter results diverged. It cited AI-related demand as a positive factor and exchange rates as a negative one, but the article didn’t include specific earnings figures ^[5]. Another report said Samsung Electro-Mechanics was expected to post strong profit growth, driven by higher prices for AI server components and increased supply. It also forecast mixed results for LG Innotek, as exchange rates could affect earnings despite the launch of Apple’s new iPhones ^[6]. These are forecasts reported in the article, not confirmed results.

Just as the headline suggests, it’s a clear case of AI lifting spirits while exchange rates bring them down. But once exchange rates enter the picture, interpreting the numbers gets much trickier. 👀

A path opens to recouping the Aeva investment

Finally, a report from The Bell. All of LG Innotek’s shares in Aeva Technologies, a US lidar company it invested in strategically, have reportedly been registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for resale ^[8]. That’s why people say a path has opened to recouping the investment. One thing to keep in mind: registration and an actual sale are separate steps. How things proceed in practice is the next thing to watch.

To sum up, there are three key variables right now: how far Apple’s order cuts will go, when and how the AI substrate expansion will show up in earnings, and how much exchange rates will weigh on the company. The picture should become clearer once we have answers to those questions, don’t you think? I’d first watch to see whether the stock tests the bottom of its range 🥕✨

📰 Reference News (8)

1

"Even Apple, a company we counted on, is showing signs of trouble"… LG Innotek stakes everything on AI substrates

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.15

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3

Samsung Electro-Mechanics and LG Innotek, with customers

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.15

📰 View original

4

Big Tech moves to secure supply… Samsung Electro-Mechanics and LG Innotek join forces on expansion worth trillions of won - IT Chosun

IT조선 · 2026.10.14

📰 View original

6

AI lifts spirits, exchange rates bring them down… Samsung Electro-Mechanics and LG Innotek post mixed third-quarter results

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.15

📰 View original

7

LG Innotek stock falls 9.74% to 398,500 KRW intraday on October 15

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.15

📰 View original