Samsung stock crosses $1 trillion market cap on AI chips

Samsung banal crossed a $1 trillion marketplace capitalization connected Wednesday, making the South Korean representation chipmaker lone the 2nd Asian institution to scope the threshold aft Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

A 14% leap successful Seoul trading lifted Samsung's valuation to astir 1,500 trillion won, equivalent to astir $1.03 trillion. The broader Kospi benchmark crossed 7,000 for the archetypal clip connected the backmost of the move, finishing the league up much than 5%. Stock successful representation adjacent SK Hynix climbed much than 10% connected the aforesaid day.

The gains followed grounds first-quarter net from Samsung's semiconductor division. Semiconductor part gross deed a grounds 133.9 trillion won for the quarter, with operating nett reaching 57.2 trillion won — a fig much than 8 times what the part posted successful the aforesaid play a twelvemonth ago. Taken alone, that azygous quarter's net surpassed the 43.6 trillion won Samsung recorded crossed each of 2025.

Analysts pointed to a shortage of DRAM and NAND representation chips arsenic a cardinal driver. Because gathering caller spot fabrication capableness requires astir 2 to 3 years from groundbreaking to production, analysts expect choky proviso conditions to persist good into the AI request upswing, according to CNBC.

Samsung has besides moved to adjacent a exertion spread with SK Hynix successful high-bandwidth representation chips, a conception cardinal to AI information halfway infrastructure. Samsung announced successful February that HBM4 — the sixth iteration of high-bandwidth representation — had entered wide accumulation astatine its facilities, with shipments already underway to prime customers, a milestone the institution claimed nary rival had reached first. By 1 estimate, SK Hynix controls astir 55% of the HBM market, leaving Samsung with astir a 4th of sales, according to CNBC.

Wednesday's buying was partially driven by overseas investors. Net purchases of Kospi shares by overseas investors totaled 3.1 trillion won connected the day, according to Bloomberg; section media attributed portion of the inflow to an statement betwixt Interactive Brokers and Samsung Securities that opened a transmission for American retail investors to bargain Korean-listed stocks directly. Among Asian currencies, the won was the day's standout performer, gaining much than 1% connected the dollar.

Apple has held talks with Samsung astir producing main processors for Apple devices successful the U.S., according to Bloomberg — a improvement that could connection Apple a secondary supplier beyond TSMC.

Not each of Samsung's concern lines are benefiting equally. Outside the spot division, results person been weaker, with the handset and show businesses squeezed by escalating input costs. Labor tensions person besides surfaced, with Samsung workers threatening to locomotion retired for 18 days aboriginal this period successful a quality implicit however the institution distributes its AI-driven windfall, according to Bloomberg.

FactSet information amusement Wednesday was not Samsung's archetypal clip supra the $1 trillion valuation people — the banal had concisely touched that level connected Feb. 26.