Shares of Samsung Electronics surged more than 15%, pushing the South Korean technology giant’s market capitalization above $1 trillion as investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence infrastructure and memory chips continued to accelerate. The rally made Samsung the second Asian company, after TSMC, to surpass the $1 trillion valuation milestone. According to market data, Samsung’s shares reached a record high and were on pace for the company’s largest single-day gain on record.
The stock surge followed Samsung’s record first-quarter financial results announced last week. The company reported operating profit of 57.2 trillion Korean won, an increase of more than eightfold year-over-year, while revenue rose to a record 133.9 trillion won. Samsung’s first-quarter operating profit also exceeded its total full-year 2025 operating profit of 43.6 trillion won.
Investor sentiment was also boosted by a Bloomberg report stating that Apple had held exploratory discussions with Samsung and Intel about producing chips for Apple devices in the United States, potentially diversifying beyond longtime manufacturing partner TSMC.
The broader South Korean semiconductor sector also rallied, with shares of SK Hynix rising more than 10%, helping push the Kospi index above 7,000 for the first time.
Much of Samsung’s recent momentum has been driven by rising demand for high-bandwidth memory chips, commonly known as HBM, which are critical components for AI infrastructure and data centers. Samsung has been working to regain market share in the fast-growing HBM segment after losing an early lead to SK Hynix.
Earlier this year, Samsung announced it had become the first company to begin mass production of HBM4 memory chips and had started deliveries to customers. HBM4 is expected to play a major role in powering next-generation AI systems, including NVIDIA’s upcoming Vera Rubin AI architecture.
Analysts said booming AI demand is creating supply shortages across DRAM and NAND memory chips, supporting higher pricing and stronger profitability for memory manufacturers. DRAM chips temporarily store actively used data, while NAND chips provide long-term storage.
Industry analysts also noted that new semiconductor manufacturing capacity can take several years to come online, which is expected to keep supply constrained and support strong earnings growth across the sector over the near term.
While SK Hynix still leads the HBM market with an estimated 55% market share compared to Samsung’s approximately 25%, analysts said Samsung’s latest HBM4 products have received positive customer feedback and are helping narrow the competitive gap.
