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LG Display makes P10 official +4

22:11 26-Nov-15


It's now official that LG Display will invest $1.6 billion to begin building its P10 plant this year.  It should begin mass producing phOLED screens of all sorts in the first half of 2018, and the total investment is expected to be more than five times the figure quoted above, which only covers basic infrastructure such as buildings, water and power.

In truth, I don't think there was ever much doubt about LG Display committing to the new technology in a big way, since competition from China and elsewhere is giving it little choice.  However this announcement and some others give us a little more color, and it looks like LGD is planning a full court press.  I've already written about it competing with Samsung in mobile, both with its own offerings and by supplying third parties.  Xiaomi may be the first, with deliveries expected in 2016, which would mean that Xiaomi beats Apple to the punch on AMOLED, as I've predicted.  LG Display will, of course, continue to expand its AMOLED television offerings and supply deals, while dropping prices by fostering progress with local companies.  The P10 announcement even projects producing AMOLED automotive displays.

As a result, I continue to see LPL as a wonderful long-term value, and that's not only because of the phOLED story.  I've also covered how LGD has leading technology in touch screens, with its AIT breakthrough, as well as market leading patent portfolio and scale.  The build out stages will continue to be street fight, as legacy technologies struggle for survival, but I have confidence that a tipping point will be reached in the next few years.  As I've also written, extreme undervaluation and moves from LGD management could cause market realization of this eventuality any time between now and then.