$LPL

LG Uplus said it bought Pago Networks to expand its managed detection and response security services, and plans to invest $945m in a 200MW AI datacentre near Seoul by Nov 2028, after a prior $431.5m phase. LG Uplus, KT and SK Telecom are founding partners in South Korea’s AIDC Alliance. Bharti Airtel reported Q1 revenue up 18% to 585.4bn rupees and EBITDA up ~10.9% in India. True Corp denied China Mobile plans to exit its 7.81% stake.

LG Display said it will invest about 1.5 trillion won (about €0.9bn) from South Korea’s National Growth Fund, doubling it with internal funds to total roughly 3 trillion won (€1.8bn). The money will support next-generation OLED technology and manufacturing infrastructure, focusing on tandem and LTPO OLED and higher-value, premium displays.

LPL Financial CEO Rich Steinmeier said LPL’s integration of Commonwealth Financial Network is progressing, with about 80% of Commonwealth assets retained and a 90% retention target. LPL plans more training for Commonwealth advisors and is rolling out AI tools including Cyan and the Latitude platform. LPL reported 32,475 employees and $2.56 trillion in client assets.

LPL Financial said it hired two advisor groups from Cetera in California and Texas, bringing about $340 million and $150 million in client assets, respectively. Raymond James added a multigenerational team from Stifel managing about $262 million. Merrill recruited two advisors from Morgan Stanley, with roughly $400 million and $220 million in assets.

LPL Financial said advisors at Williams Tax & Financial Services joined its broker-dealer and RIA platform from Cetera. The team manages about $340 million in advisory, brokerage, and retirement plan assets. Williams, led by Steve Williams, cited LPL’s scale, independence, and technology. LPL supports 32,000 advisors and about $2.3 trillion in assets.

According to industry sources cited by The Elec, Apple proposed paying about $70 per OLED panel for the iPhone 18 Pro Max, below expected Samsung Display and LG Display pricing near $66.50. The article links Apple’s iPhone cost pressure to DRAM capacity shifting to AI HBM, citing TrendForce and TechInsights, and notes Samsung Display and LG Display executives discussing “chipflation” and OLED investment and losses.

Zacks Research downgraded LG Display (NYSE:LPL) from Hold to Strong Sell. Weiss Ratings later lowered it from Sell (d-) to Sell (e+). The stock fell 5.8% to open at $3.17. LG Display reported Q1 EPS of -$0.26 on revenue of $3.62B; analysts expect -$0.28 EPS for FY.

LG Display will invest 3 trillion won ($2.03 billion) in next-generation small and medium OLED technologies, supported by South Korea’s National Growth Fund. The fund will provide a 1.3 trillion won low-interest loan, with LG Display contributing 1.5 trillion won and a 200 billion won private syndicated loan. Focus is on LTPO, tandem OLED, hybrid panels, and modules. Korea’s OLED share was 68.7% in 2023 vs China’s 31.2%.

LG Display reported Q2 sales of 5.6121 trillion won and an operating loss of 107.7 billion won, citing one-time voluntary retirement costs of about 240 billion won. Excluding these costs, analysts said profitability improved. For H1, sales were 11.1461 trillion won with operating profit of 39 billion won. Securities firms cut target prices after results; iM and SK kept buy ratings.

LG Display said on July 22 it posted Q2 revenue of 5.6121 trillion won and an operating loss of 107.7 billion won, with revenue up 0.4% year over year and the loss narrowing. For H1, revenue was 11.1461 trillion won and operating profit 39.0 billion won, returning to profit after seasonal weakness and one-off workforce optimization costs.