[Click e-Stock] "Samsung Electronics Set to Benefit Most from AI Ecosystem Expansion... Target Price at 130,000 Won"

On October 16, KB Securities maintained its target price for Samsung Electronics at 130,000 won and its 'Buy' investment rating, stating that the company is expected to be the biggest beneficiary from the expansion of the AI ecosystem.

Kim Dongwon, a researcher at KB Securities, stated, "The expansion of the AI ecosystem, driven by increased AI collaboration among global companies, will create a favorable environment for Samsung Electronics' semiconductor business, which boasts a diversified global customer base and the world's largest memory production capacity."

Kim further explained, "In particular, Samsung Electronics, which has established strategic partnerships with OpenAI, Broadcom, AMD, Oracle, and SoftBank, is also expected to benefit from the diversification of the HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) supply chain as the AI ecosystem expands. The recent announcements of major global partnerships-Oracle-AMD (October 15), Broadcom-OpenAI (October 14), and AMD-OpenAI (October 6)-are also positive developments."

Samsung Electronics' operating profit for 2026 is projected to reach 64.2 trillion won, a 79% increase from the previous year, driven by a rise in the average selling price (ASP) of DRAM and a recovery in foundry utilization rates. This would be the highest performance in eight years since 2018 (58.8 trillion won). Kim noted, "Operating profit for Samsung Electronics in 2026 will more than double compared to 2024 (32.7 trillion won)," adding, "In particular, operating profit for the semiconductor (DS) division is expected to reach 43.4 trillion won in 2025, an increase of about 167% from the previous year."

He also added, "HBM sales in 2026 are expected to increase threefold, or approximately 206%, from the previous year, due to increased volume resulting from supply chain diversification."

The expansion of AI infrastructure investment was also cited as a positive factor. Kim stated, "With AI data center investments expected to exceed 1 trillion dollars (about 1,400 trillion won) by 2028, a meaningful increase in DRAM supply, including HBM, will only be possible from 2028, when the Pyeongtaek P5 plant and Yongin semiconductor cluster begin full-scale operations. As a result, the DRAM market is expected to face a severe supply shortage from 2026 to 2027."

He further analyzed, "Due to HBM-focused investment over the past three years, the expansion of new DRAM production capacity in 2026 is expected to remain limited through process conversion, while NAND flash is projected to see a decrease in production capacity due to a supply reduction strategy. Coupled with replacement demand for general servers, a prolonged shortage of memory semiconductor supply and rising prices is inevitable."

Kim stated, "Samsung Electronics is currently focusing on mass production of 1c DRAM and is preparing to launch HBM4 (11Gbps in 2026) and HBM4E (13Gbps in 2027) with improved speeds. The company's HBM market share is expected to rebound from a low of 17% in the second quarter of this year."

He concluded, "Despite the recent rise in share price, Samsung Electronics remains the most undervalued among global memory companies, trading at a price-to-book ratio (PBR) of 1.4 times. Going forward, the 100,000 won price level will serve as a strong support line for the stock."