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Q2 Maker Dashboard

All three Korean battery makers reported operating profit in Q2 2026. The trade press treated this as synchronized recovery. The underlying data says otherwise. Each result carries different one-time items, different levels of 45X credit dependence, and critically different disclosure quality. LGES showed its ex-credit loss; Samsung SDI and SK On did not provide the figures needed to calculate theirs. A reader comparing the three on headline operating profit alone would rank them in roughly the inverse order of their transparency.

The demand picture adds a second dimension. Korean makers' combined EV battery share in non-China markets fell to 28.4% through May (SNE Research, Jan-May 2026), down 8.7 percentage points YoY. ESS revenue surged at LGES, but EV volume share continued to erode across all three. Profitability and volume are moving in different directions, and per-kWh ASP data remains absent from every filing.

Q2 Maker Dashboard

All three Korean battery makers reported operating profit in Q2 2026. The trade press treated this as synchronized recovery. The underlying data says otherwise. Each result carries different one-time items, different levels of 45X credit dependence, and critically different disclosure quality. LGES showed its ex-credit loss; Samsung SDI and SK On did not provide the figures needed to calculate theirs. A reader comparing the three on headline operating profit alone would rank them in roughly the inverse order of their transparency.

The demand picture adds a second dimension. Korean makers' combined EV battery share in non-China markets fell to 28.4% through May (SNE Research, Jan-May 2026), down 8.7 percentage points YoY. ESS revenue surged at LGES, but EV volume share continued to erode across all three. Profitability and volume are moving in different directions, and per-kWh ASP data remains absent from every filing.

LGES Result

LGES Returns to Profit on Credit Expansion

Q2 operating profit KRW 113.3B (1.5% margin) on KRW 7.6T revenue. AMPC contribution KRW 241B, up 27% QoQ. The company directly disclosed its ex-credit result: negative KRW 127.7B, improved from negative KRW 397.6B in Q1 but still loss-making on an underlying basis. Net loss KRW 328.6B after non-operating charges.

Samsung Result

Samsung SDI Breaks Seven-Quarter Loss Streak, Partially

Consolidated operating profit KRW 203.8B; battery-segment operating profit KRW 159.3B. Consolidated AMPC was KRW 107.7B per KRX filing, but Samsung did not allocate this to the battery segment. An unquantified US tariff refund also contributed. The battery-segment ex-credit result cannot be calculated from available public filings.

SK On Result

SK On Reports KRW 822B Swing, Quantifies Nothing

Battery-business operating profit swung from negative KRW 349.2B in Q1 to positive KRW 821.8B. Management attributed the result to higher Asian sales, customer compensation, and increased AMPC. None of these items were individually quantified. The recurring battery-business result cannot be recovered from reviewed public materials.

Disclosure Quality

LGES Transparency Creates an Unfavorable Headline Comparison

LGES disclosed its ex-credit loss directly in IR materials. Samsung SDI reported consolidated AMPC but withheld the battery-segment allocation and left its tariff refund unquantified. SK On quantified none of its cited profit drivers. In a side-by-side comparison, the company that shows its 45X dependence reads as the weakest, which penalizes disclosure.

ASP Gap

Per-kWh ASP Data Absent From All Three Filings

None of the three companies published a per-kWh ASP figure, QoQ ASP change, or forward ASP guidance for any product category in Q2 materials. LGES's operating margin compressed from 8.1% in Q2 2025 to 1.5%, but this aggregates mix shift, subsidy changes, and price movement without isolating any single factor.

EV Share

Korean EV Battery Share Drops Below 29% Ex-China

SNE Research Jan-May 2026: combined Korean share in the non-China EV battery market fell to 28.4%, down 8.7pp YoY. LGES volume grew 1.0% but share dropped to 16.7% (down 20.2%). Samsung SDI volume declined 29.7%. SK On declined 5.7% but was the only maker showing sequential improvement versus the four-month figure.

ESS Pivot

LGES ESS Revenue Rose 4.6x YoY in H1

H1 2026 ESS revenue reached a high-20% share of LGES total revenue, up 4.6x YoY. New ESS contracts exceeded KRW 3T in H1. Management guided Q3 ESS shipments up 50%+ QoQ as North American lines ramp, but placed ex-IRA ESS profitability at Q4 earliest.

H2 Outlook

All Three Guide to ESS-Driven Second Half Improvement

LGES expects 20%+ QoQ revenue growth in Q3 and reiterated full-year 20% growth guidance. Samsung SDI said US ESS orders cover substantial capacity through 2029, with US LFP cell production starting October. SK On offered no quantitative H2 guidance in reviewed materials.

The Earnings Decomposition

SK On Q2 2026: KRW 821.8B Operating Profit, None of It Decomposable

By Elise Huan-Cartwright— August 8, 2026

Feature image for article: SK On Q2 2026: KRW 821.8B Operating Profit, None of It Decomposable

SK On swung from a KRW 349.2B loss to a KRW 821.8B operating profit in Q2. SK Innovation named customer compensation and higher AMPC as the drivers and quantified neither. The AMPC figure, which appeared only in Korean-language materials through Q4 2025, has been absent from both languages since Q1 2026. All four economic vintages this publication tracks — policy credits, legacy settlements, recurring cell operations, ESS ramp costs — remain unpopulated, and the underlying cell business may still be loss-making. The US footprint is on a separate clock: Georgia consolidated to one plant, 37% of the workforce cut, the first named ESS customer relationship still pre-acceptance.

The Earnings Decomposition

SK On Q2 2026: KRW 821.8B Operating Profit, None of It Decomposable

By Elise Huan-Cartwright— August 8, 2026

SK On swung from a KRW 349.2B loss to a KRW 821.8B operating profit in Q2. SK Innovation named customer compensation and higher AMPC as the drivers and quantified neither. The AMPC figure, which appeared only in Korean-language materials through Q4 2025, has been absent from both languages since Q1 2026. All four economic vintages this publication tracks — policy credits, legacy settlements, recurring cell operations, ESS ramp costs — remain unpopulated, and the underlying cell business may still be loss-making. The US footprint is on a separate clock: Georgia consolidated to one plant, 37% of the workforce cut, the first named ESS customer relationship still pre-acceptance.

StarPlus Timeline Check

StarPlus LFP Has a September Line and a 2027 Cathode Contract

Samsung SDI's Q2 deck (July 30) reaffirmed "timely US prismatic LFP mass production" at StarPlus. No plant-level volume, yield, or utilization data accompanied the statement. ETNews (July 6) reported the first LFP line producing 273 Ah cells in September, ahead of the Q4 2026 corporate milestone. But the same reporter's June 25 piece places equipment installation for the broader conversion in H1 2027, with verified supply from two additional lines (~12 GWh each) in H2 2027.

The cathode sourcing doesn't align with a September start. L&F's KRX filing specifies LFP CAM deliveries beginning 2027. If line 1 runs cells this fall, the cathode active material source is undisclosed.

Line 1 may produce cells by Q4. Qualified LFP supply at procurement-relevant volumes from StarPlus is an H2 2027 proposition on the equipment and feedstock evidence available.

StarPlus Timeline Check

StarPlus LFP Has a September Line and a 2027 Cathode Contract

Samsung SDI's Q2 deck (July 30) reaffirmed "timely US prismatic LFP mass production" at StarPlus. No plant-level volume, yield, or utilization data accompanied the statement. ETNews (July 6) reported the first LFP line producing 273 Ah cells in September, ahead of the Q4 2026 corporate milestone. But the same reporter's June 25 piece places equipment installation for the broader conversion in H1 2027, with verified supply from two additional lines (~12 GWh each) in H2 2027.

The cathode sourcing doesn't align with a September start. L&F's KRX filing specifies LFP CAM deliveries beginning 2027. If line 1 runs cells this fall, the cathode active material source is undisclosed.

Line 1 may produce cells by Q4. Qualified LFP supply at procurement-relevant volumes from StarPlus is an H2 2027 proposition on the equipment and feedstock evidence available.

Timeline by source

Q4 2025: StarPlus begins phasing EV lines to ESS (Samsung SDI, Mar 24)
Jun 24, 2026: Equipment LOIs/POs issued to Korean suppliers for LFP conversion (ETNews, Jun 25)
Sep 2026: First LFP line production start, 273 Ah cells (ETNews, Jul 6)
Q4 2026: "LFP mass production" corporate milestone (Samsung SDI, Mar 24; reaffirmed Jul 30)
H1 2027: LFP line equipment installation complete (ETNews, Jun 25)
2027: L&F LFP CAM deliveries begin (L&F KRX filing, Mar 30)
H2 2027: Verification and expanded supply volumes (ETNews, Jun 25)