Samsung Electronics stock surged on Thursday after the company reported record results, offering relief after a brutal semiconductor sell-off.
The shares rose more than 2% after the opening and surged as much as 8%, before paring their gain to about 5%.
Samsung reported second-quarter revenue of 171.5 trillion won, up 28% from the previous quarter, while operating profit reached a record 89.5 trillion won.
Earnings per share increased 52% sequentially to 10,849 won.
The semiconductor division generated 89.2 trillion won of operating profit, meaning chips accounted for virtually all group earnings.
Samsung stock: Record chip earnings put the AI thesis back in focus
Samsung said its memory business produced record revenue and earnings as rising prices combined with strong demand from AI servers.
The company expanded sales of HBM4 and shipped what it described as the industry’s first HBM4E samples to major customers.
Those milestones strengthen Samsung’s attempt to narrow SK Hynix’s lead in high-bandwidth memory used alongside AI accelerators.
Management expects continued AI infrastructure investment and wider adoption of agentic AI to accelerate demand for HBM, server DRAM and enterprise solid-state drives during the second half.
Samsung said the memory market should remain undersupplied despite moderation in smartphones and personal computers.
The outlook carries concentration risk. Samsung’s mobile and networks businesses recorded a 700 billion won operating loss as expensive components squeezed margins.
Its television and appliance operations also posted a slight loss. That leaves the group dependent on memory pricing and hyperscaler demand to offset pressure elsewhere.
Analyst targets point to substantial upside
KB Securities research head Kim Dong-won maintained a Buy rating and a 600,000 won target on July 23.
In comments reported by the Seoul Economic Daily, Kim said expanding HBM4 and HBM4E production would create unavoidable structural limits on conventional DRAM capacity.
He expects those constraints to support the memory cycle and forecast third-quarter operating profit of 110 trillion won.
Kim also argued that major US technology companies see underinvestment in AI as riskier than overinvestment, supporting continued infrastructure spending.
Mirae Asset Securities offers a restrained benchmark.
Analyst Kim Young-gun retained a Buy rating on Wednesday but cut Samsung’s target to 370,000 won from 550,000 won, reflecting lower sector valuations and concerns surrounding Chinese competition and memory-cycle volatility.
Citi is more bullish, with a 530,000 won target. The bank said in commentary that memory fundamentals remained intact and server DRAM pricing was outperforming on strong processor-driven demand.
What could stop Samsung stock from climbing higher?
Samsung must pass some crucial tests to approach the most ambitious targets.
It needs to convert HBM4 progress into sustained customer orders, Big Tech companies must keep increasing AI capital expenditure, and memory supply must remain disciplined as global and Chinese producers expand capacity.
Kiwoom Securities analyst Park Yoo-ak cut his target to 390,000 won in July.
The Seoul Economic Daily reported that Park expected slower earnings-per-share growth and greater volatility, even while identifying HBM4 and enterprise storage as longer-term growth drivers.
China remains another threat. Faster development by CXMT and domestic equipment makers could eventually add to conventional memory supply, pressure prices and reduce the valuation multiples awarded to Samsung and SK Hynix.
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