Samsung Posts Record Earnings, Shares Plunge as Analysts Split

*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an 'AI-based customized news recommendation and summary service' developed with the support of the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items for each reader type.

1. "Overwhelming Earnings" vs. "Rising Volatility"… Analyst Views on Samsung Electronics Diverge

- Key Summary: Even though Samsung Electronics posted second-quarter results above market estimates, its shares fell for two consecutive days as analyst assessments split. According to the Korea Exchange on the 8th, Samsung Electronics closed at 277,500 won, down 6.25% from the previous session, after the company's preliminary second-quarter operating profit of 89.4 trillion won, announced the previous day, lifted it past Nvidia to become the world's most valuable company by market capitalization. KB Securities and IBK Investment & Securities raised their target prices to 600,000 won and 460,000 won, respectively, citing expanding AI memory demand and a prolonged supply shortage. In contrast, Kiwoom Securities (039490.KS) cut its target price from 430,000 won to 390,000 won, citing slowing earnings-per-share (EPS) growth in the second half and concerns over Chinese companies' market share gains.

2. "Semiconductor Supercycle Until Big Tech Gives Up on Investment… It Will Run 2-3 More Years"

- Key Summary: Kim Sun-woo, an analyst at Meritz Securities, diagnosed the current semiconductor boom as a structural cycle different from those of the past. He explained that as the center of memory demand shifts from individual consumption (B2C) to Big Tech's AI infrastructure investment (B2B), the cycle will not turn until competitors give up on investing. Kim projected that point as "2-3 years away at the earliest," adding that if SK hynix (000660.KS) lists American depositary receipts (ADRs) in the United States, Samsung Electronics could also benefit from a valuation re-rating. He advised individual investors that the broader trend remains positive as earnings estimate upgrades and memory price increases continue, but that they should also trim positions once target returns are reached.

3. 63% of KOSPI Stocks at New Lows… Even Large Caps Melted Down

- Key Summary: While the KOSPI index has risen more than 70% this year, 63.4% of stocks on the main board have hit 52-week lows. This is attributed to a widening gap between the index and individual stocks as funds concentrated in a handful of large caps such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Even among the top 100 stocks by market capitalization, 20 set new lows this year, 14 of them since June. On the 8th, the KOSPI closed at 7,246.79, plunging 5.35% from the previous session, and the sidecar mechanism—a temporary halt on program sell orders—was triggered for a second consecutive trading day.

4. Brokerages Raise Margin Requirements in Succession as Volatility Grows… Will Leveraged Buying Shrink?

- Key Summary: As volatility in the domestic stock market expanded, brokerages raised margin requirements one after another as a risk management measure. Kiwoom Securities raised the margin requirement on Samsung Electronics from 20% to 30%, while Korea Investment & Securities is applying 60% to select stocks including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, and 100% to most stocks. When the margin requirement reaches 100%, investors must secure the full purchase amount in cash, effectively blocking leveraged investing through margin trading. Brokerages explained that they took these steps to lower the risk of forced liquidations after leveraged investing, including margin loans and credit trading, grew rapidly.

5. Retail Investors Shift Leverage Bets… Moving From Samsung Electronics to SK hynix

- Key Summary: Individual investors' bets on single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) appear to be shifting from Samsung Electronics to SK hynix. So far this month, three SK hynix single-stock leveraged ETFs have appeared daily among the top five ETFs by trading value, while Samsung Electronics leveraged ETFs have not made the top ranks even once. This is attributed to SK hynix overtaking Samsung Electronics as the most valuable stock by market capitalization on the 22nd of last month, and to profit-taking as the perception spread that expectations for Samsung Electronics were already priced in after its earnings release. However, Roh Geun-chang, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities, said "memory semiconductor bottlenecks will persist amid growing agentic AI demand through 2028," assessing that the semiconductor cycle centered on the two stocks itself remains unchanged.

6. Samsung Begins Mass Production of 'AI NAND' for Vera Rubin After HBM4… Wings for 100 Trillion Won in Profit

- Key Summary: Samsung Electronics has begun mass production of the 'PM1763,' a new enterprise solid-state drive (eSSD) to be installed in Nvidia's next-generation AI computing platform Vera Rubin. Following its position as the world's first supplier of sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) for Vera Rubin, Samsung has now secured the eSSD as well, putting its 'total AI memory' strategy firmly on track. The PM1763, equipped with a 4-nanometer process controller and ninth-generation V-NAND, delivers twice the data transfer speed and approximately 1.8 times better power efficiency than its predecessor. Industry watchers accordingly forecast that rising average selling prices (ASPs) for both HBM and eSSDs could extend Samsung Electronics' streak of quarterly operating profit in the 100 trillion won range.