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Samsung CEO apologizes for weak stock price, vows to strengthen competitiveness

Published: 19 Mar. 2025, 16:56 Updated: 24 Mar. 2025, 14:37

JIN EUN-SOO
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Han Jong-hee, CEO and vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, speaks during a general shareholder meeting in Suwon, south of Seoul, on March 19. [YONHAP]

Han Jong-hee, CEO and vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, apologized for recent declines in stock prices on Wednesday and vowed to make constant efforts to regain market leadership.

"I sincerely offer an apology to our shareholders for disappointing stock prices," Han said during a general shareholder meeting in Suwon, south of Seoul.

He acknowledged that Samsung has struggled to adapt to the rapidly evolving AI semiconductor market and failed to secure dominant competitiveness in key sectors such as smartphones, TVs and home appliances last year.

He pointed out that stock prices have remained weak due to concerns over the company's technology capabilities as well as rising geopolitical uncertainties, including U.S. tariff policies.

"Our executives and employees are well aware of the importance of meeting market expectations for earnings and technological competitiveness," he said.

"We will do our best to enhance our core technologies and deliver a solid financial performance to restore investor confidence."

The electronics giant's stock prices declined throughout last year, falling from around 80,000 won ($55) at the beginning of 2024 to around 55,000 won at the end of the year.

Foreign investors have remained net sellers of the stock for seven straight months since August.

The sharp drop was attributed to the company's lackluster performance in the flagship semiconductor sector, particularly its failure to capitalize on the AI-driven boom in high bandwidth memory (HBM).

Rival SK hynix has significantly outpaced Samsung in this crucial market segment.

For the fourth quarter of 2024, SK hynix posted an operating profit of 8.08 trillion won, surpassing Samsung Electronics' 6.5 trillion won.

It marked the first time SK hynix has outperformed Samsung, whose diverse business portfolio spans from home appliances to mobile devices and semiconductors, in quarterly operating profit.

Samsung Electronics emphasized that it is set to supply the fifth-generation HBM3E product to U.S. AI giant Nvidia later this year.

"Thanks to our continuous efforts, our 12-layer HBM3E will play a key role in the market as early as the second quarter or the third quarter at the latest," said Jun Young-hyun, head of the semiconductor division at Samsung Electronics, during the event.

Throughout last year, the company's HBM3E chips repeatedly failed to pass Nvidia's quality tests, excluding the company from the Nvidia-led AI chip supply chain.

"To ensure that we do not repeat the same mistake with future HBM technologies, we are working carefully and staying on schedule," he said. "We will not disappoint our shareholders again."

Yonhap