Mr. Jun Young-hyun, Vice President and Co-CEO in charge of Samsung's chip division, said that the business environment is expected to be favorable thanks to increased AI demand and prolonged memory supply shortages.
However, Samsung leaders also emphasized the remaining risks, including global macroeconomic instability, tariff issues and cost pressure in equipment business segments such as televisions, telephones and household appliances.
In fact, strong demand from AI data centers has tightened global semiconductor supply. This situation affects many industries, from automobiles, personal computers to smartphones, as memory chips become more scarce.
In that context, Samsung shares increased sharply, setting a record high and increasing by about 62% since the beginning of the year, far exceeding the general increase of the Korean stock market.
This increase is mainly due to the shortage of memory chips, allowing major manufacturers such as SK Hynix and Micron Technology to raise selling prices.
These businesses are currently dominating the global memory chip market. The increase in chip prices helps improve profit margins, while creating positive expectations for investors.
Notably, Samsung's situation has improved significantly compared to last year, when the company was once rated as lagging behind in the AI chip race.
The change took place after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Samsung was involved in producing new AI chips for Nvidia. This information contributed to boosting Samsung's stock price.
Analysts believe that Samsung's contract chip manufacturing division, which supplies customers such as Tesla and Apple, may recover from next year after a long period of losses.
However, besides the opportunity, Samsung still faces internal challenges. The company's trade unions are considering strike plans due to dissatisfaction with the wage gap with competitors. This could disrupt production if not resolved in time.
Mr. Jun Young-hyun admitted that Samsung is at a disadvantage in its salary competitiveness due to previous chip revenue decline, leading to a decrease in bonuses.
However, he also said that the situation is improving as semiconductor business activities recover, helping to narrow the gap with competitors.
In the context of AI continuing to boost chip demand, Samsung is expected to benefit greatly, but still needs to balance between growth, cost and internal stability to maintain sustainable development momentum.
