Samsung has crossed the $1 trillion market valuation for the first time, after a strong comeback in its shares driven by demand for AI chips. The stock jumped around 12-14% in a single trading session, pushing its market cap above around ₩1,500 trillion (~ $1.04 trillion). This rise comes as Samsung’s shares have more than doubled in 2026, supported by booming demand for high-bandwidth memory used in AI systems. Notably, the company’s recent earnings have also surged sharply, with its semiconductor business leading growth.
The growth in Samsung’s stock has been both rapid and sustained. Shares have increased more than 120% since the start of 2026, with some estimates showing gains of almost 390% over the past year, making it one of the strongest-performing large-cap tech stocks globally. At one stage, the stock traded above ₩230,000-₩270,000 levels, compared to a 52-week range that was as low as around ₩53,700. The sharp upward move also shows strong investor inflows, with foreign investors alone buying over ₩3 trillion (more than $2 billion) worth of Korean equities in a single day during the rally.
The company’s financial performance has played a central role in justifying this valuation. In the first quarter of 2026, Samsung reported record revenue of about ₩133.9 trillion (~ $90 billion) and operating profit of ₩57.2 trillion, the highest in its history. This represents a year-on-year profit jump of over 750%, an extraordinary surge driven primarily by its semiconductor division. Notably, chips contributed more than 90% of total profits.
The semiconductor business, especially memory chips, has become the core growth engine. The electronics giant’s Device Solutions division alone generated over ₩81 trillion in revenue and ₩53 trillion in operating profit in the quarter. The demand is being driven by high-performance memory products like HBM (high-bandwidth memory), which are essential for AI workloads like large language models and cloud data centers. Production for these advanced chips is already largely sold out, and demand is expected to remain strong for years.
Meanwhile, this growth is also changing the broader market. South Korea’s KOSPI index crossed the 7,000 mark for the first time, rising more than 75% in 2026 alone, largely powered by semiconductor stocks like Samsung and SK Hynix. Together, these two companies now account for around 44% of the index’s total value.
The Tech Portal is published by Blue Box Media Private Limited. Our investors have no influence over our reporting. Read our full Ownership and Funding Disclosure →
Ashutosh is a Senior Writer at The Tech Portal, largely reporting on new tech, and intersection of technology and business. Ashutosh’s career spans across nearly a decade of technology writing across multiple platforms and languages.
