[Reporter’s Notebook] Samsung Electronics’ Remaining Challenges After Reaching 1,000 Trillion Won in Market Capitalization

Samsung Electronics on the 22nd became the first company in the history of the Korean stock market to reach the 1,000 trillion won mark in market capitalization. It is an unprecedented milestone for a single company. Considering that just a year ago its share price was hovering in the 50,000 to 60,000 won range, both the speed and scale of the rebound are extraordinary. The share price sends a clear message: the market has once again placed Samsung Electronics at the center of the Korean capital market.
The drivers behind this record are relatively clear. Starting with expanded investment in Artificial intelligence (AI), the semiconductor market has rebounded quickly. The recovery in memory semiconductor prices has coincided with infrastructure investments by major Information Technology (IT) companies.
Samsung Electronics was at the center of this trend, and its earnings responded immediately. It delivered stellar results, posting 20 trillion won in operating profit in the fourth quarter of last year and 330 trillion won in annual revenue. There is no reason to dispute these numbers. However, this 1,000 trillion won market capitalization is closer to a valuation that has already priced in expectations for the next several years. The market has already reflected even the "post-AI" phase in the share price.
The question is whether Samsung Electronics has clearly articulated a medium- to long-term strategy that can support such expectations. Internally, there is talk that Samsung high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) meets the processing speeds required by Nvidia’s next-generation AI accelerators, indicating that its memory semiconductor business is clearly in a recovery phase. Yet the company’s overall semiconductor portfolio is now far too large to be defined by memory alone. Its non-memory business, spanning foundry and System LSI, is estimated to have continued posting multi-trillion-won losses last year. This is why, this year, the company must show through its earnings releases and management briefings how major customer orders and the benefits of AI infrastructure investment will translate into actual results. In its device business, new areas such as robots, which global companies are treating as core growth fields, remain at the stage of merely outlining direction. Beyond showcasing technological strengths and product concepts, Samsung Electronics needs a concrete business roadmap that includes commercialization timelines and revenue models.
A 1,000 trillion won market capitalization is an expression of confidence in a company, but it is also the market’s most unforgiving demand. The market is now asking Samsung Electronics not just whether it is performing well, but what it intends to do next. As competition in AI semiconductors intensifies, the company must also answer where it aims to position itself technologically, and what growth engines will take over after memory semiconductors. A 1,000 trillion won valuation is not a trophy handed to management, but a figure that demands explanations commensurate with its weight. The numbers have risen enough. It is now time to present the rationale that will sustain them.
soup@fnnews.com Reporter