Samsung Electronics makes history as South Korea's first company to approach a $700 billion market cap, driven by a memory market supercycle and strong investor interest.
© E. Vartanyan
Samsung Electronics has set a historic record, becoming the first South Korean company to approach a market capitalization of nearly $700 billion. The tech giant's shares briefly exceeded 160,000 won per share recently, pushing the company's total valuation past the 1,000 trillion won mark—an unprecedented event for the South Korean market.
The conglomerate's impact on the country's economy is immense. Samsung operates across dozens of industries, from semiconductors and smartphones to insurance, healthcare, and construction. Samsung Electronics remains the key growth driver, contributing significantly to export revenues and the nation's investment appeal.
This sharp rise in stock prices is driven by heightened investor interest in the memory market's "supercycle." Over the past year, Samsung Electronics shares have more than tripled in value, a rare occurrence for the South Korean stock market, which is often viewed as undervalued due to structural constraints and corporate governance quirks.
Interestingly, Samsung shares are gaining popularity among younger investors. Local analysts report that over 400,000 investors under the age of 20 already own the company's stock. For many of them, Samsung represents financial stability and a rare example of a national brand competing with the world's largest corporations.