Samsung Market Value Tops $1.39 Trillion for First Time, Closing In on Meta

Samsung Shares Jump 6% as Chip Rally Continues

Market Value Doubles in Four Months After Crossing 1,000 Trillion Won

Average Price Target Raised to 390,417 Won From 290,000 Won in a Month

SK Hynix Grows to More Than 80% of Samsung’s Size

Korea’s Two Chip Giants Could Both Reach $2 Trillion in Market Value

Samsung Electronics Co.’s market capitalization, including preferred shares, topped 2,000 trillion won ($1.385 trillion) for the first time on May 29. The stock surged as geopolitical concerns eased amid growing prospects for an end to hostilities between the US and Iran. News that Samsung had begun mass production of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, and had invested in AI startup Anthropic also fueled gains. SK Hynix Inc. extended its rally the same day, underscoring strong investor appetite for semiconductor stocks.

Samsung Reaches 2,000 Trillion Won in Four Months

Samsung Electronics rose 5.84% to close at 317,000 won on the Kospi on May 29. Samsung Electronics preferred shares gained 6.08% to 202,500 won. The Kospi index climbed 3.55% to a record 8,476.15, helped by Samsung’s advance.

Samsung’s common and preferred shares both rallied, pushing its combined market value above 2,000 trillion won. Its common shares were valued at 1,853.2703 trillion won, while preferred shares had a market capitalization of 162.4801 trillion won. Combined, that brought the total to 2,015.7504 trillion won. It was the first time Samsung’s market capitalization closed above 2,000 trillion won. The stock briefly touched that level intraday on May 27, but profit-taking left it in the 1,900 trillion won range by the close.

Samsung’s market value has been climbing sharply. After topping 1,000 trillion won at the end of January, it doubled in about four months. Some investors now expect Samsung’s common shares alone to exceed the 2,000 trillion won mark soon. Converted into dollars, Samsung’s market capitalization stood at $1.385 trillion on May 29, ranking 11th globally and narrowing the gap with No. 10 Meta Platforms Inc., at $1.612 trillion.

Samsung’s sharp gain followed the company’s announcement that it had become the first in the world to begin shipping samples of seventh-generation HBM, a core component for the AI ecosystem. The move came after it started mass production of sixth-generation products in February, reinforcing confidence in its technological edge. News that Samsung had invested in Anthropic, the developer of AI service Claude, also supported sentiment. Separate reports that negotiations over ending hostilities between Iran and the US were making progress helped improve risk appetite.

By investor type, institutional investors were net buyers of 1.6653 trillion won worth of Samsung shares. Foreign investors sold 324 billion won worth of common shares, but bought 257 billion won worth of preferred shares. Retail investors sold both common shares, for a net 1.3328 trillion won, and preferred shares, for 304.7 billion won. At the same time, leveraged exchange-traded funds tied solely to Samsung saw roughly 260 billion won in net buying.

SK Hynix Rapidly Closes the Gap

SK Hynix, the country’s second-largest company by market value, is also rapidly gaining on Samsung. The stock rose 1.92% to close at 2.333 million won on May 29. Its market capitalization reached 1,662.7346 trillion won, up by nearly 1,200 trillion won this year.

SK Hynix has outpaced Samsung this year. Samsung shares have risen 164.39%, while SK Hynix has surged 258.37%. A year ago, SK Hynix’s market value was just 41.74% of Samsung’s, including preferred shares. By May 29, that had grown to more than 80%.

The company has benefited more directly from the AI chip boom because memory semiconductors account for a larger share of its business, unlike Samsung, which has a more diversified portfolio spanning smartphones and home appliances.

Brokerages have also raised their targets for both stocks. According to AI-based investment information service Epic AI, Samsung’s average target price climbed 34.02% over the past month to 390,417 won from 290,000 won. SK Hynix’s average target rose 41.08% over the same period to 2.41375 million won from 1.71087 million won.

The highest target prices now stand at 570,000 won for Samsung and 3.8 million won for SK Hynix. If those targets are reached, Samsung’s market capitalization would expand to about 3,800 trillion won, while SK Hynix would rise to 2,770 trillion won. That would put both companies in the $2 trillion market-cap club.

Kang Jin-kyu and Cho A-ra, Hankyung reporters josep@hankyung.com