Samsung's Record Profit and Nvidia Pact Collide With $28 Billion Rival Listing and Bonus Unrest
Published on 07/09/2026 at 17:30 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Investors handed Samsung Electronics a split verdict this week: a historic operating profit that made it the world's most profitable technology company still failed to keep its shares from sliding, as a massive $28 billion capital raise by archrival SK Hynix and simmering internal disputes over bonus payments overshadowed the headline numbers. The result is a stark reminder that in the memory-chip sector, even a record quarter doesn't guarantee a rising stock price.
Samsung kicked off the week with a significant operational milestone. The company has started mass production of its PM1763 enterprise solid-state drives, purpose-built for Nvidia's upcoming "Vera Rubin" AI platform. The new SSDs offer double the read-and-write speeds of their predecessors and incorporate liquid cooling to prevent overheating during intensive AI model training. Nvidia has also given the green light to Samsung's HBM4 memory chips, which will run on the same architecture. With a 35% share of the enterprise SSD market, Samsung has widened its lead over rivals SK Hynix and Micron in this high-margin segment.
The stock's reaction, however, told a different story. The shares closed Wednesday at 277,500 won, 6.9% lower on the day and roughly 7% below the prior week's level. Over 30 days the decline has reached 14.29%. The selling pressure was tied directly to SK Hynix, which this week listed American Depositary Receipts on the Nasdaq in the second-largest equity placement on recordâafter only SpaceX. eToro analyst Wong noted that the timing, falling squarely in Samsung's earnings reporting week, has drawn rotational capital that would otherwise have flowed into Samsung stock.
The irony is that Samsung's preliminary second-quarter results were spectacular. Operating profit surged to 89.4 trillion won ($58.6 billion), a record for the company and a 19-fold increase year-over-year. The figure beat the market consensus of 84.16 trillion won by 6.2%, vaulting Samsung past Nvidia as the world's most profitable tech company by operating profit. Yet the stock closed nearly 7% lower on Tuesday alone, and the sell-off continued Wednesday with an intraday loss of as much as 7.6%.
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Counterpoint analyst Tom Kang explained the disconnect to CNBC as a function of "built-up pressures." Labor unions and the government both want a larger share of the windfall, and there is growing concern that memory prices may have overshot. Samsung itself is planning a 20% hike in DRAM prices, exploiting the current chip shortage strategically. Meanwhile, a significant chunk of the record profitâanalysts estimate between 15 trillion and 19 trillion wonâstemmed from provisions for employee bonuses, including retroactive payments for the first quarter. Without those one-off items, operating profit would have breached 100 trillion won.
The bonus issue has become a flashpoint internally. Employees in Samsung's mobile and consumer electronics divisions are planning protests on July 16, 2026, demanding fairer bonus distribution compared with the highly profitable chip business. Management is also reportedly exploring a U.S. stock listing to raise fresh capital for expanding its expensive production facilities in Pyeongtaek.
Despite the operational strength, Samsung's valuation remains deeply discounted relative to global peers. The stock trades at just 6.0 times trailing earnings, slightly below SK Hynix's 6.6 times and a fraction of TSMC's 23.1 times or Micron's 11.2 times. The discount to international competitors stands at roughly 60% for Samsung and 56% for SK Hynixâa gap that has persisted for some time and is unlikely to narrow quickly as capital rotates toward SK Hynix's new U.S.-listed shares.
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Technically, the correction still has room to run. Samsung is currently 26% below its 52-week high of 374,500 won, reached on June 19. It sits 8.6% below its 50-day moving average of 302,090 won, while the relative strength index of 41.6 signals a correction rather than an oversold condition. Still, the longer-term picture remains imposing: the stock has gained over 115% year-to-date and more than 360% over the past twelve months.
The market's attention now turns to July 30, when Samsung releases its full quarterly report with a breakdown by divisionâdetails missing from the preliminary release. Until then, the gravitational pull of SK Hynix's U.S. listing is likely to remain the dominant force driving both Korean chip giants, leaving Samsung's record profits and Nvidia deal temporarily in the shadows.
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