TLDRs;
- Samsung stock jumped 5.51% to ₩93,900 on strong AI chip demand and positive investor sentiment.
- The company’s 76% year-to-date rise pushes its market cap to nearly $390 billion.
- Morgan Stanley raised Samsung’s price target to ₩111,000, citing stronger memory pricing and AI growth.
- Analysts expect Samsung’s HBM chip production to scale by 2026, narrowing the gap with SK Hynix.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (005930.KS) surged 5.51% on Thursday, closing at ₩93,900 in Seoul, as investors doubled down on optimism surrounding the company’s growing foothold in artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
The South Korean tech giant’s shares are now within striking distance of an all-time high, buoyed by a sharp rise in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip demand and bullish forecasts from major financial institutions.
The rally comes as global markets reopened after a weeklong holiday in South Korea, reigniting momentum in one of Asia’s most influential stocks. Samsung’s stock has already climbed 76% in 2025, boosting its market capitalization to roughly US$390 billion, cementing its position as a cornerstone of both South Korea’s economy and the broader semiconductor industry.
AI Boom Fuels Investor Confidence
Much of Samsung’s renewed strength stems from its positioning in the booming AI hardware space. The company is negotiating large-scale supply deals with Nvidia and OpenAI, both of which are major consumers of next-generation memory technologies used in AI model training and inference.
Samsung’s collaboration with these industry leaders signals a significant shift toward AI-centered revenue streams, complementing its existing dominance in DRAM and NAND chips.
Analysts note that while the AI gold rush has driven demand for HBM chips, shortages of traditional DRAM and NAND memory have also pushed prices higher, further boosting Samsung’s margins.
“We’re witnessing the start of a multi-year upcycle for memory,” said one Seoul-based semiconductor analyst. “Samsung’s exposure to both AI-driven and conventional markets makes it uniquely positioned for sustained growth.”
Morgan Stanley Raises Price Target
Adding to the bullish sentiment, Morgan Stanley raised its price target for Samsung Electronics by 14%, setting a new goal of ₩111,000 per share.
The investment bank cited rising chip prices in the fourth quarter and projected strong demand continuing into 2026. The forecast reflects increasing investor confidence that Samsung’s memory division could regain leadership in performance and profitability over the coming quarters.
Samsung’s rival SK Hynix, which has seen a staggering 145% rise in its share price this year, remains slightly ahead in HBM production timelines. However, Samsung’s growing list of AI-related partnerships suggests it could close the gap as it scales production of its HBM3E memory chips.
Together, Samsung and SK Hynix have propelled South Korea’s KOSPI benchmark index up nearly 50% year-to-date, a testament to the semiconductor sector’s dominance in the region’s economic recovery.
Supply Gaps and Packaging Challenges
Despite the upbeat momentum, some analysts warn that Samsung’s HBM supply chain still faces constraints. The company only recently received Nvidia’s approval for its HBM3E chips after nearly 18 months of testing and revisions. While mass shipments are now expected to begin in 2026, competitors like SK Hynix and Micron have already launched large-scale deliveries.
Industry watchers also point to ongoing bottlenecks in advanced packaging capacity, particularly in CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) processes that connect GPUs with high-speed memory.
Limited output from outsourcing partners such as Amkor and ASE could slow deployment of new AI servers globally. However, expanding capacity from substrate manufacturers like Ibiden, AT&S, and Unimicron may gradually ease the pressure by 2026.
