LG Electronics logs record Q1 revenue, profit up 33%

LG Electronics said on May 4 that its first-quarter 2026 revenue rose 4.3% year on year to US$16.23 billion, while operating profit increased 32.9% to US$1.14 billion.

The company said this was its highest first-quarter revenue on record, with home appliances and vehicle solutions contributing a combined US$6.84 billion.

Business-to-business (B2B) sales reached US$4.45 billion, or 36% of total revenue.

Its home appliance unit posted US$4.75 billion in revenue and US$390 million in operating profit, while the vehicle solutions unit recorded US$2.49 billion and US$145 million.

Media and entertainment brought in US$3.54 billion, with US$254 million in operating profit.

The eco solutions unit reported US$1.93 billion and US$170 million amid weaker demand linked to the conflict in the Middle East and higher personnel costs.

🔗 Source: LG Electronics Inc.

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Implications, context, and why it matters.

Vehicle tech and software drove growth

LG’s Vehicle Solution (VS) Company posted its highest quarterly revenue and operating profit yet. Its operating profit margin also rose above 6% for the first time 1.
Results improved as LG sold more higher-end in-vehicle infotainment systems, which include software and screens for navigation, media, and car functions. Adoption also spread to more vehicle models, especially at European automakers 1.
LG’s subscription business for products and services brought in 640 billion South Korean won (US$470 million) in revenue. That was up 15% from a year earlier 1.
The Media Entertainment Solution (MS) Company returned to profit as premium products sold well, the webOS platform business grew, and marketing plus fixed costs came down 1.

LG sees AI data centers as a future HVAC market

LG’s Eco Solution (ES) Company reported lower revenue and operating profit from a year earlier. Even so, LG is focusing on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for AI data center cooling, including next-generation liquid-cooling technology 1.
Its liquid-cooling work includes Direct-to-Chip, which cools processors with liquid sent to plates attached to the chips. LG is also working on immersion cooling systems with GRC and SK Enmove for high-performance computing chips used in AI data centers 2.
Under its One LG Solution plan, LG Electronics, LG CNS (the group’s information technology services arm), and LG Energy Solution (its battery affiliate) are combining cooling, data center design, construction, operations, and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems 3.
The setup also includes a direct current (DC) grid meant to cut energy loss. LG says traditional alternating current (AC) conversion loses about 25% of power, while its DC grid lowers that to about 10% 3.