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Samsung hits 1 quadrillion won market cap milestone as AI and HBM continue to fuel ascent

Published: 04 Feb. 2026, 18:43

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, center, inspects the NRD-K cleanroom facility, a cutting-edge compound semiconductor research and development center at Samsung Electronics' Giheung Campus, on Dec. 22, 2025. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics became the first company in Korea’s history to surpass a market capitalization of 1 quadrillion won ($687.5 billion) on Wednesday.

The milestone came 51 years after Samsung Electronics went public for the first time on the Korea Exchange in 1975.

On Wednesday, shares of Samsung Electronics closed at 169,000 won on the benchmark market, up 0.96 percent from the previous trading day. Based on the closing price, the company’s market capitalization stood at 1 quadrillion won — 22.56 percent of the total Kospi market capitalization of 4.44 quadrillion won.

When Samsung Electronics was listed in June 1975, its share price was 5,905 won, based on a par value of 5,000 won. Compared to the current closing price, based on a par value of 100 won, the stock has risen about 1,430-fold after adjusting for stock splits.

Samsung Electronics’ market capitalization at the 1 quadrillion won mark is widely seen as a symbolic event that encapsulates the growth of Korea’s capital market.

Samsung Electronics' building in Seocho District, southern Seoul, is seen on Jan. 29. [NEWS1]

At the time of its listing in 1975, Samsung Electronics was primarily a manufacturer of home appliances and electronic products. It later expanded aggressively into the semiconductor industry, rapidly scaling up its business. The company increased its global market share centered on memory chips and broadened its business portfolio to include smartphones, displays and system semiconductors.

Stock splits also marked a key turning point in its rise as a so-called national stock. In 2018, Samsung Electronics carried out a 50-to-1 stock split, easing the price burden and broadening its base of individual investors.

As a result, the company has established itself as Korea’s leading national stock with, quite literally, millions of individual shareholders: As of the end of June 2025, the number of minority shareholders stood at about 5.05 million.

Improving earnings have also underpinned the expansion of its market capitalization. On a consolidated basis, Samsung Electronics posted revenue of 333.6 trillion won and an operating profit of 43.6 trillion won in 2025.

Samsung Electronics' share price is seen displayed next to the Kospi on an electronic board inside Woori Bank's trading room in Jung District, central Seoul, on Feb. 4. [YONHAP]

With both revenue and operating profit rising from 2024 levels, the company is seen as entering a phase in which performance and corporate value are being reevaluated simultaneously.

In particular, analysts say that growing demand for high value-added semiconductors driven by the spread of AI has led to a recovery in the profitability of the semiconductor business.

Expectations are also rising for a rebound in technological competitiveness in high bandwidth memory (HBM), an area long cited as Samsung's weakness.

As the possibility of expanding market share in the next-generation HBM4 market is discussed, forecasts suggest that the improvement in semiconductor earnings could continue over the mid-to long term.

A Samsung Electronics logo appears in this illustration made on Aug. 25, 2025. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

In the fourth quarter of last year, Samsung Electronics set a new record by posting a quarterly operating profit of 20 trillion won, the first such result for a Korean company.

In overseas markets, a number of companies have already surpassed market capitalizations of $750 billion, a similar value to Korea's 1 quadrillion won. Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft are typical examples of companies that have joined the so-called trillion-dollar club in global markets on the back of AI and platform businesses.

“Samsung Electronics’ market capitalization of 1 quadrillion won shows that structural changes in industry centered on artificial intelligence and semiconductors are beginning to be materially reflected in corporate value,” said Shin Joong-ho, head of the research center at LS Securities. “Unlike in the past, it is meaningful in that growth narratives and actual performance are now being evaluated at the same time.”

On Wednesday, the Kospi closed at 5,371.10, up 1.57 percent from the previous session, setting another all-time high. The Kosdaq index also rose 0.45 percent to finish at 1,149.43.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK YOUNG-WOO [[email protected]]