"Stuck at 90,000 won, escaping at 120,000" — 1 million small shareholders left Samsung Electronics in a year

[Financial News] The number of small shareholders in Samsung Electronics has dropped by nearly 1 million in just one year. As the share price climbed, many individual investors appear to have taken profits and exited the stock on a large scale.
According to the business report disclosed by Samsung Electronics on the 10th, the number of small shareholders at the end of last year stood at 4,195,927. This is a decrease of 964,283 from 5,160,210 a year earlier.
The total number of shares held by small shareholders also fell from 4,073,349,914 shares at the end of 2024 to 3,909,148,867 shares at the end of last year, a decline of about 164,201,047 shares. Their share of total outstanding stock dropped 2.19 percentage points (p), from 68.23% to 66.04%.
This decline in small shareholders is seen as the result of a large volume of profit-taking by individual investors following the stock’s rise.
Samsung Electronics’ share price lingered in the so-called "50,000 won Samsung" range from late 2024 to early 2025, but by the end of last year it had reached the "120,000 won Samsung" level. During this period, many individual investors who entered around early 2021, when the stock hit the "90,000 won Samsung" level, appear to have moved to realize profits roughly four years later.
Analysts say that many of the individual investors who exited last year likely returned to Samsung Electronics this year, riding the sharp rally in its share price. This year, as the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) broke through 6,000 and Samsung Electronics’ share price surged well past the "200,000 won Samsung" level, individual investors recorded a net purchase of 16.335 trillion won in the stock.
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter