Samsung stock rallies by 12% as market cap hits new all-time high of $1 trillion

Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) jumped 12% on Wednesday, and that was enough to push its value above $1 trillion.

The rise put Samsung in this cute little club, as it became the second Asian company to cross $1 trillion, behind TSMC (TSM). FactSet data showed that Samsung first crossed that level on February 26, but Wednesday’s rally took the company to a new peak.

Samsung draws new buyers after record earnings beat last year’s full profit

The rally came after Samsung posted record first-quarter results last week. Operating profit rose more than eight times to ₩57.2 trillion, while revenue reached ₩133.9 trillion. That quarterly profit was also bigger than the company’s full-year 2025 operating profit of ₩43.6 trillion.

Over the past year, Samsung has gained more than 186%, and it is up more than 59% so far in 2026, and the five-year gain is above 48%. That is a huge run, but the analyst table still showed plenty of Buy calls.

CLSA kept Samsung at Buy on May 4, with a ₩340,000 target, up from ₩320,000, giving 31.27% upside. Nomura/Instinet also kept Buy the same day, with the same ₩340,000 target and 31.27% upside.

JPMorgan kept Buy on May 4 and lifted its target to ₩350,000 from ₩300,000, with 35.14% upside. HSBC kept Buy on May 1, with a ₩350,000 target.

Morgan Stanley kept Buy on April 20 and raised its target to ₩362,000 from ₩251,000, the highest listed target, with 39.77% upside.

On April 8, CLSA kept Buy and raised its target to ₩320,000 from ₩290,000, while UBS kept Buy at ₩266,000 from ₩257,000. Citi also kept Buy that day, with a ₩320,000 target from ₩300,000.

Goldman Sachs kept Buy on April 7 and raised its target to ₩285,000 from ₩260,000. CLSA had already kept Buy on March 30, with a ₩290,000 target.

JPMorgan kept Buy on March 23, with a ₩300,000 target from ₩240,000. Bernstein SocGen Group kept Buy on March 18, but its ₩225,000 target showed 13.13% downside.

Nomura/Instinet kept Buy on March 17, with a ₩320,000 target from ₩290,000. Goldman Sachs kept Buy on March 11, with ₩260,000 from ₩205,000.

CLSA kept Buy on March 9, with ₩290,000 from ₩260,000. JPMorgan kept Buy on March 5, with ₩240,000, while UBS kept Buy on March 4, with ₩257,000 from ₩242,000.

The February calls looked messy because some targets were listed in smaller units. Bernstein SocGen Group kept Buy at 140 on February 26. Morgan Stanley kept Buy at 248 from 210 on February 24. Macquarie kept Buy at 340 the same day.

Citi kept Buy at ₩280,000 from ₩240,000, Nomura/Instinet kept Buy at ₩290,000 from ₩220,000, Barclays kept Buy at 3,600 from 3,150, UBS kept Buy at ₩242,000 from ₩177,000, and CLSA kept Buy at ₩260,000 from ₩220,000 on January 30.

Cryptopolitan had earlier reported that Apple (AAPL) was in early talks with Samsung and Intel (INTC) about making chips for Apple devices in the United States. That would give Apple another route beyond its long-time chip partner TSMC.

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Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi hit another record on Wednesday as Asia-Pacific stocks opened higher. The region followed overnight gains on Wall Street.

The S&P/ASX 200 (.AXJO) was at 8,766.80, up 86.30 points, or 0.99%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (.HSI) was at 25,948.68, up 50.07 points, or 0.19%. South Korea’s Kospi (.KS11) was at 7,331.03, up 394.04 points, or 5.68%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (.N225) was listed at 59,513.12, up 228.20 points, or 0.38%, though Japan’s market was closed for a holiday.

India’s Nifty 50 (.NSEI) stayed flat at 24,032.80. The Shanghai Composite (.SSEC) rose 29.988 points, or 0.73%, to 4,142.147.

The Kospi also rose 5.56% in another reading as trading resumed after a holiday, taking its year-to-date gain above 70%. SK Hynix (000660.KS) rose more than 9% in early trading and hit a record high.

The Kosdaq fell 0.15%. China’s CSI 300 gained 0.71% after the Labor Day break. The Hang Seng Tech Index added 0.21%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was also quoted 0.58% higher.

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