"Samsung Electronics Could Double From Today’s Price" — Even a 590,000-Won Target, as Brokers Say Earnings Estimates Still Haven’t Caught Up

[Financial News] Samsung Electronics, which has moved past the unprecedented threat of a full-scale strike, has begun a full-fledged stock rally. At the same time, online stock communities are buzzing over a meme of a "50,000-won bill" with Lee Jae-yong’s face edited onto it.
According to the financial investment industry on the 22nd, labor and management at Samsung Electronics reached a tentative wage agreement the previous day, just 90 minutes before the planned strike time. That quickly removed the uncertainty weighing on the market. As foreign and institutional funds that had been held back by strike risks poured in, Samsung Electronics shares closed at 299,500 won, up 8.51% from the previous day. During trading, the stock even touched 300,000 won.

The financial investment industry expects Samsung Electronics to enter a full-scale "valuation normalization" phase, supported by rising memory prices and the removal of strike-related uncertainty. In particular, NVIDIA’s announcement of record first-quarter results, with revenue of about 122 trillion won, reaffirmed the global AI semiconductor supercycle and served as a powerful catalyst for the stock’s rise.
As a result, securities firms at home and abroad are rushing to raise Samsung Electronics’ target price to the 500,000-won range and above, offering upbeat forecasts. The most aggressive estimate came from Nomura Securities, which set the target price at 590,000 won. Among Korean brokers, Korea Investment & Securities made the largest upward revision, lifting its target from 370,000 won to 570,000 won.
Shinhan Securities also sharply raised its target from 300,000 won to 550,000 won. SK Securities and Eugene Investment & Securities each set a new target of 500,000 won, while Mirae Asset Securities raised its target to 480,000 won, reflecting strong expectations for further gains.
Behind the wave of target-price hikes is a firm belief in explosive earnings growth. Kim Hyung-tae, a senior analyst at Shinhan Securities, said, "Samsung Electronics’ operating profit in the second half will grow 49.6% from the first half, and its semiconductor division will grow 52%." He added that "this is a period in which earnings estimates are far more likely to be revised upward."
Chae Min-sook, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, also explained that "Samsung Electronics, with its advantage in general-purpose memory production capacity, will have stronger earnings growth momentum than its rivals."
In fact, Shinhan Securities projected that Samsung Electronics’ annual operating profit this year will surge 743% from a year earlier to 36.71 trillion won.

Even amid the rosy outlook from brokers and investor enthusiasm, several variables still need to be resolved.
The first test is the union members’ vote on the tentative agreement, which runs from the afternoon of the 22nd until the morning of the 27th. Despite the bold condition of introducing a special performance bonus funded by 10.5% of business performance, internal dissatisfaction over bonus gaps remains. If hardliners drive a wave of rejection votes, strike risks could return.
There is also concern over an overhang, or a potential large-scale selloff, if Samsung Electronics moves ahead with a treasury stock payout plan to secure the roughly 31 trillion won needed for the bonus pool. Such a move could flood the market with a huge amount of shares and dilute the value of existing shareholders’ stakes.
Strong resistance from retail investors is another burden. The Samsung Electronics retail investor group, Korea Shareholder Action Headquarters, has warned of legal action, arguing that the tentative wage agreement is unlawful. Representative Min Kyung-kwon said, "The tentative agreement is legally invalid unless it goes through a shareholders’ meeting resolution," and called for an extraordinary general meeting to be convened.
moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter