Market context
Samsung Electronics has delivered an extraordinary run, with shares up about 421% over the last year. Even after that jump, KB Securities analyst Jeff Kim reiterated a Buy rating and left his 12-month target price unchanged at 360,000 Korean won, which implies roughly 26% upside from the most recent close.
Valuation view
Kim emphasized valuation in his note, writing that "Despite the recent rally, SEC is trading at 4.7x 2027E P/E, which we believe is the cheapest it will be." That metric underpins his view that the current share price still represents an entry point for investors prepared to look through the recent run-up.
Memory: the central driver
At the core of Kim's bullish case is Samsung's memory franchise. He forecasts that demand for DRAM and NAND will continue to outpace supply through 2027, a dynamic he attributes to rapid growth in AI-related compute consumption. Kim points to an example from Google, which reported token usage growth of 60% quarter-on-quarter; he notes that if that rate persisted, consumption would increase roughly 6.5 times within a year.
Kim also flagged hyperscaler spending as a structural support for memory demand, writing, "With hyperscalers' 2027E capex estimated at over $1tn and new chip production lines (P5) coming online in 2028-29, we expect memory demand to continue exceeding supply through 2027."
Financial projections
On fundamentals, Kim projects a substantial near-term improvement in profitability. He estimates Samsung's operating profit for the second quarter of 2026 will reach 84 trillion won, roughly 18 times the figure from the same quarter a year earlier, reflecting an operating margin near 50% for that period. For the full year, he models operating profit of 360 trillion won - more than eight times the 2025 figure - on revenue of 705 trillion won.
Foundry and robotics as secondary catalysts
Beyond memory, Kim identifies two additional potential growth engines. He expects Samsung's foundry business, which lost an estimated 7 trillion won in 2025, to approach breakeven by 2027. That improvement is predicated on an expected doubling of order intake in 2026 and the potential addition of major North American customers for its 2-nanometer process, with Apple and Qualcomm named as possible clients.
Separately, Samsung is forecast to begin commercializing humanoid robots in the second half of 2026, combining its AI software with hardware from affiliate Rainbow Robotics. Kim summarized the interplay of these drivers by saying, "SEC will have all three growth engines - memory, foundry, robot - running at once from 2H26."
Investor tools referenced
The note also references a model question often posed to investors: "Should you invest $2,000 in 005930 right now?" It mentions ProPicks AI as a tool that evaluates 005930 alongside thousands of companies each month using more than 100 financial metrics, aiming to identify attractive risk-reward names based on current data.
Outlook and watch points
Kim's case rests on a continuation of strong AI-driven memory demand, a recovery in foundry economics via higher order intake and customer additions, and successful commercialization of humanoid robots in late 2026. Each of those elements is central to the thesis and will be key items for market participants to monitor as the company progresses toward the timeframes Kim outlines.
This report presents the analyst's published projections and the company's near-term catalyst timeline as stated in the note.