AI Wave Reaches New Peak as Samsung Electronics Powers South Korea’s Bull Market

(Seoul, 9th) South Korean stocks rallied strongly in early trading on Friday (9th), led by Samsung Electronics. With artificial intelligence (AI) expansion and surging server-capacity demand, signs of a global “memory crunch” are emerging. The memory market is increasingly viewed as entering a super upcycle, significantly improving profit prospects for key suppliers.

In a report, Citibank said pricing power among memory suppliers has reached a historical peak, while warning of a severe supply shortage in memory chips this year. The bank forecast average selling prices (ASPs) for DRAM and enterprise-grade SSDs to surge year-on-year by 144% and 87%, respectively.

Based on these assumptions, Citi estimated that Samsung Electronics — the world’s largest memory-chip maker — could see its full-year operating profit rise by more than 2.5 times.

Samsung Electronics released its latest earnings guidance on Thursday (8th). Preliminary figures suggest the company’s profit forecast for the fourth quarter of last year is expected to jump 2.08 times year-on-year to 20 trillion won (about RM55.8 billion), surpassing the previous record of 17.6 trillion won (about RM49.0 billion) set in Q3 2018. If Citi’s projections materialize, Samsung’s quarterly results this year could continue setting new highs.

The news lifted Samsung’s share price to an intraday peak of 144,500 won — nearly 1.9 times above its trough in November 2024 — making it a key driver behind the broader market’s advance.