Shares of Samsung Electronics surged past 300,000 won ($198) in intraday trading on Friday, marking a significant new milestone for the tech giant. This notable achievement follows the suspension of a planned labor union walkout, positively impacting investor sentiment.
Samsung Electronics commenced regular trading for the day at 300,000 won, reaching an intraday peak of 300,500 won. However, the stock later experienced some profit-taking, settling at 294,000 won by 10:40 a.m.
While the memory chip titan had briefly touched the 300,000 won threshold during pre-trading on Thursday, after a last-minute tentative labor agreement, Friday marked the first instance of its shares exceeding this valuation during official regular trading hours.
In extended out-of-hours trading earlier on Friday, Samsung shares even climbed to an all-time high of 303,500 won, reflecting strong market confidence.
The previous trading session saw Samsung Electronics close at 299,500 won, up an impressive 8.51 percent. This sharp rebound was primarily fueled by improved investor sentiment following the dissipation of concerns surrounding a potential labor strike.
With uncertainty easing, leading brokerage houses have been quick to upgrade their target prices for Samsung Electronics, signaling a bullish outlook for the company’s stock.
The most optimistic forecast originated from Japan’s Nomura Securities, which set an ambitious target price of 590,000 won. Nomura also projected a substantial rise in Samsung’s operating profit, from an estimated 307 trillion won this year to 511 trillion won by 2028.
Domestic brokerages have similarly and significantly elevated their expectations for Samsung Electronics.
Korea Investment & Securities increased its target price to 570,000 won, citing an ongoing structural shortage within the global memory chip supply market. Shinhan Securities also boosted its target to 550,000 won, emphasizing valuation normalization and potential further upside in memory prices.
NH Investment and Securities revised its target price upward to 490,000 won. Concurrently, Mirae Asset Securities and JPMorgan Chase both lifted their targets to 480,000 won, pointing to additional scope for earnings upgrades in the near future.Ryu Young-ho, an analyst at NH Investment and Securities, commented, “Recent underperformance in Samsung Electronics shares reflected market anxieties over potential labor strikes and the company’s comparative weakness against competitors.”
He added, “However, the accelerating expansion of agentic AI is strongly reinforcing expectations for a sustained memory upcycle. With labor-related uncertainty now largely resolved, the stock is poised to regain momentum and achieve valuation normalization.”
Further adding to the stock’s upward trajectory are Samsung Electronics’ plans for treasury share buybacks, particularly if the tentative labor deal receives approval through a vote by union members.
The company is anticipated to accelerate its share buyback program to finance special bonuses for its chip employees, a key component of the recently negotiated labor agreement.
According to market estimates forecasting Samsung Electronics to achieve a cumulative operating profit of 300 trillion won this year, the company would be required to disburse 31.5 trillion won in treasury shares as bonuses specifically for its Device Solutions division, which encompasses all memory operations.
The substantial scale of this proposed stock-based bonus scheme is fueling market expectations that Samsung Electronics will need to significantly expand its treasury share buyback program to secure the necessary volume of shares for the impending payout.
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