Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) shares rose sharply to a record high on Monday, extending their recent gains after upbeat comments from co-CEO Jun Young Hyun sparked optimism over the company’s artificial intelligence prospects.
Samsung surged more than 6% to a record high of 136,900 yuan in morning trade, also underpinning a 1.9% jump in the KOSPI.
Reports last week showed Hyun told employees in a year-end memo that the chipmaker’s customers said “Samsung is Back,” spurring hopes that the company was close to clinching a key supply deal with NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA).
Reports of Hyun’s comments saw Samsung’s shares surge on Friday, while broader Asian technology stocks also rose. Rival memory chips maker SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) rose nearly 3% to a record high on Monday.
On Monday, a Reuters report said Samsung also planned to shore up AI offerings on its own devices by effectively doubling the number of its mobile devices with AI features powered by Google’s Gemini.
But the report also showed Samsung warning that a global memory chip outage, due to outsized AI demand, could also impact its own smartphone and device production.
Samsung’s early-2026 rally comes after the stock rose sharply through the final quarter of 2025, amid increasing signs of tighter memory chip supplies and rising processor prices.
Outsized demand from the AI industry, for key high-bandwith memory, is set to severely tighten memory chip supplies this year, driving up prices.
While Samsung had initially lagged rival SK Hynix in capitalizing on AI-fueled demand for HBMs, the company was seen rapidly catching up in mid-to-late 2025, signing supply deals with OpenAI. Reports said a deal with Nvidia was also close.
Reports from South Korean media said Samsung is set to post bumper earnings for the fourth quarter of 2025. The company is expected to report its preliminary earnings for the quarter this week.
