Samsung Stock Soars 27% as Korea's AI-Chip Rally Breaks Records

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Samsung Electronics (SSNLF), a South Korean producer of memory chips, smartphones and consumer electronics, soared approximately 27% during Friday's Seoul session as Korean AI-chip stocks staged a record rebound. SK Hynix (NASDAQ:SKHY), a South Korean memory-chip manufacturer supplying NVIDIA, climbed 30% to the market's daily limit. The moves helped lift South Korea's Kospi index 17.9%, its largest one-day percentage gain since records began in 1985.

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The rally followed earnings and spending announcements from large U.S. technology companies that reinforced expectations for continuing AI-computing demand. Amazon raised planned 2026 capital expenditure to approximately $220 billion, while Microsoft forecast stronger-than-expected Azure cloud growth. Memory suppliers may benefit because expanding data centers require high-bandwidth memory and conventional server memory alongside processors. However, positioning also contributed after leveraged investors and hedge funds had reduced exposure during the earlier selloff.

The Kospi still declined approximately 22% during July despite Friday's record gain, illustrating the scale of the preceding correction. SK Hynix remained more than 40% below its recent record even after reaching the daily price limit. Investors may therefore view the rebound as evidence of renewed AI demand confidence without assuming the market's volatility has ended. Future hyperscaler spending, memory pricing, Chinese semiconductor competition and the use of leveraged investment products could determine whether Friday's recovery develops into a sustained advance.

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