Strength in Foldable Smartphones Keeps Us Bullish on This Portfolio Play

As we indicated in Friday’s Weekly Roundup, we have a bit of a slow start to the week from an economic data and a quarterly earnings perspective.

Taking over the center stage will be the outcome of President Trump’s meeting on Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European allies regarding potential terms for a Ukraine-Russia peace deal. Reports we saw over the weekend discussing the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska were mixed, but our take on the potential outcome is very much like the one we’ve had about tariffs: the devil will be in the details. As we learn those, we can make a more informed judgment.

While we wait for that outcome, as well as the Flash August PMI data later this week that has the potential to shape Fed Chair Powell’s Jackson Hole comments on Friday, let’s review some portfolio-related headlines from the weekend.

Universal Display

In the second quarter, shipments from Samsung surged in the U.S., with its market share rising from 23% to 31% from the prior period, according to data from Canalys. One area that is clearly helping Samsung is the foldable category. Per Samsung, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the latest version, had 25% more preorders than any previous Samsung folding phone, and sales are outpacing the device’s predecessor by nearly 50%. Other smartphone vendors, including Xiaomi, Motorola, OnePlus and Google’s GOOGL Pixel brand, are in the foldable mix as well.

This latest data point for foldables builds on the upbeat presentation delivered by Universal Display OLED last week. This week, we have a Google Pixel event on Wednesday that will showcase the Pixel 10 lineup of products, and we’ll be looking to see what it says about foldables and screen sizes. We’ll also be interested in new AI-powered features that are showcased as we think about the adoption of AI in consumer devices and the impact on network capacity. As you know, that part of our thesis is behind owning Marvell MRVL shares.

The next known catalyst for the shares will be management’s next presentation at the Citi 2025 Global TMT Conference on September 4. Others, including the likes of AMD AMD and Corning GLW, will be presenting at that conference, and its timing, with less than one month to go in the current quarter, should bring a number of fresh insights. The Citi conference is also a few days ahead of Goldman’s 2025 Communicopia & Technology Conference that runs from September 8 through September 11.

Because of the accelerating shift to organic light-emitting diode displays across a growing number of device categories, we continue to rate OLED shares a One.

Labcorp

On Monday morning, Labcorp LH announced the nationwide availability of the Lumipulse pTau-217/Beta Amyloid 42 Ratio, the first blood-based in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) test cleared by the FDA to aid in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease through early detection of the amyloid plaques associated with the disease in appropriate patients. Through a single blood draw, the test offers results that are comparable to existing methods that support a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, which should help spur adoption as well as make for a cost-competitive alternative.

We see this tying LH shares even closer to our aging of the population investing theme. With just over 10% upside to our $300 target, we continue to rate the shares a Two. A pullback near the $260 level would bring a more favorable risk-to-reward pickup point for folks who are underweight the shares relative to the Portfolio.

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At the time of publication, TheStreet Pro Portfolio was long GOOGL, MRVL, OLED and LH.