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Samsung hit a fresh record on Friday as investors bet the tech giant will be a big winner from the AI boom and a looming memory-chip supercycle. Shares climbed to 94,400 won (around $66), lifting the company’s market value to roughly 620 trillion won (about $434 billion).
Why AI demand and memory chips matter right now
The surge isn’t random. High-bandwidth memory (HBM), DRAM and NAND chips are the backbone of AI servers and data centers, and analysts now see supply shortages pushing prices up. That combination of stronger pricing and booming demand for AI accelerators has put Samsung squarely in the spotlight as a potential supplier to Nvidia and other major customers.
Negotiations, supply deals and a potential supercycle
Market watchers say Samsung is close to finalizing volumes and terms for HBM shipments to key AI players. At the same time, large-scale investments in AI infrastructure and chip production are fueling talk of a memory-chip supercycle: a period when constrained supply meets surging demand, lifting industry profits and valuations.
Wall Street upgrades and shifting investor interest
Analysts have taken note. Morgan Stanley recently raised its target price for Samsung, reflecting expectations of rising memory prices later this year and continued demand into 2026. That gap suggests more upside if chip pricing and AI adoption keep strengthening.
Crucially, this rally has a different flavor than the 2021 run-up. Back then, retail traders pushed Samsung higher during the pandemic. This time, foreign funds and institutional investors appear to be behind much of the buying—money chasing AI momentum and a re-rating of Korea’s biggest tech name.
Samsung's shares hit an all-time record high
Partnerships and foundry wins add fuel
Beyond memory, advances on the foundry side are helping Samsung’s case. Improvements in 2nm process yields have sparked talk that Samsung Foundry could win strategic work—so much so that Qualcomm reportedly agreed to a special “for Galaxy” version of its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 to be manufactured by Samsung. Renewed ties with big customers such as Qualcomm and Intel have reinforced investor confidence.
Still, markets remain volatile. After the record high, Samsung saw some profit-taking on Monday as shares slipped to about 91,600 won (roughly $64), underscoring how quickly sentiment can shift.
Can momentum hold? What to watch next
There’s reason for optimism: AI demand, HBM supply deals and a potential memory supercycle could sustain growth for Samsung over the next 12–24 months. But risks remain—cyclical swings in chip pricing, execution on foundry yields, and competition from domestic rivals like SK Hynix. Investors will watch quarterly memory price trends, supply agreements with AI players, and foundry output closely.
Imagine data centers expanding capacity to train ever-larger AI models—if that scenario plays out, Samsung’s memory and foundry businesses could be at the center of a multi-year upward trend. Yet the market’s mood can change fast, so the coming quarters will reveal whether this is a lasting re-rating or a shorter-lived rally.
Source: phonearena
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