Kim Un-ho of IBK Securities said on the 23rd that Samsung Electronics' earnings are also likely to improve in 2026 on the back of a recovery in the memory market.
Kim maintained a buy rating on Samsung Electronics and raised the target price to 140,000 won from 110,000 won.
Kim noted that among Samsung Electronics' preliminary results for the third quarter of this year (July–September), improvement in the DS (semiconductor) division stood out. Kim said it was the result of an improved market for DRAM and NAND flash, along with a reduced loss in non-memory.
In particular, Kim assessed that Samsung Electronics showed differentiation from competitors in terms of average selling price (ASP) starting in the third quarter due to higher volumes.
Kim expected the DS division's operating profit to improve in the fourth quarter of this year (October–December) as memory semiconductor prices rise due to supply shortages. In particular, he projected the DS division's operating profit in 2026 at 67.4 trillion won, more than tripling from this year.
Kim said, "Samsung Electronics' share price performance has lagged due to weakness in High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), but the magnitude of operating profit improvement in 2026 is expected to be the highest in the industry."