Daishin Securities reaffirmed its buy recommendation on Samsung Electronics (KRX: 005930) on the 25th, maintaining a target price of KRW 560,000. The stock closed at KRW 340,500 on the 24th, implying upside of roughly 65%.
Analyst Ryu Hyung-geun acknowledged that heightened share-price swings had fuelled debate about whether the stock had peaked, but argued this was "not a moment to be shaken." He expects a simultaneous improvement in earnings and shareholder returns to underpin the investment case.
For the second quarter of 2026, Daishin projects operating profit of KRW 82 trillion, below the market consensus of KRW 86.8 trillion. The shortfall reflects the recognition of performance-bonus provisions, which the analyst characterised as a one-off item rather than a structural concern.
More notably, the brokerage raised its 2027 operating profit forecast from KRW 503 trillion to KRW 532 trillion. The upgrade is driven by expectations of a steeper upswing in memory chip prices, with the average selling price of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) — a premium chip in heavy demand for artificial intelligence applications — projected to rise 65% year on year.
Daishin also expects Samsung to generate free cash flow of more than KRW 300 trillion within the year, before any mergers and acquisitions. That financial firepower, the analyst argues, opens the door to special dividends, share buybacks and cancellations, as well as more aggressive M&A by Samsung's DX division, which houses its consumer electronics and mobile businesses.
On the foundry side — where Samsung manufactures chips on behalf of third-party clients — the brokerage turned constructive. It argued that stabilising yields on leading-edge process nodes, combined with industry-wide capacity growth trailing demand growth, creates an ideal environment for upcycle synergies. The analyst also sees Samsung broadening its foundry customer base beyond mobile application processors to encompass HBM base dies, automotive semiconductors, and custom ASICs.
For the full year 2026, Daishin forecasts Samsung Electronics revenue of KRW 717.66 trillion and operating profit of KRW 365.35 trillion.