The world's top company is not defined by a single success. Maintaining that position is often more challenging than reaching it in the first place. This is why the scrutiny on Samsung Electronics is particularly intense. Despite posting record quarterly earnings and securing major contracts with global tech giants, the market immediately demands the next achievement. Yesterday's records become today's benchmarks, and today's successes turn into tomorrow's obligations. This is the fate of a world-leading company.
Samsung Electronics reported a record revenue of 171.5 trillion won and an operating profit of 89.5 trillion won for the second quarter of this year, setting a new quarterly performance record. The operating profit margin reached 52%, showcasing profitability that ranks among the best in both manufacturing and global tech sectors. Aside from Saudi Arabia's Aramco, one of the world's largest oil companies, no other firm can rival Samsung's operating profit scale. Even Nvidia, a leader in the AI industry, falls behind. Nevertheless, market interest focuses more on 'how much more can be earned next' rather than 'how much was earned.'
It may seem unfair. Apple continues to be recognized for the growth potential of its services ecosystem, even as iPhone sales growth slows. Nvidia maintains its high corporate value despite concerns about a slowdown in future AI demand. In contrast, analysts question whether Samsung's AI investments will slow after this year, whether Chinese memory companies will catch up, and whether increased supply will lead to price declines. Following the earnings announcement, profit-taking sales flooded the market, and even news of major contracts did not sustain a long-term rise in stock prices.
In the financial sector, there is a prevailing analysis that Samsung's price-to-earnings ratio (PER) remains low compared to its profit growth rate. Samsung's share of total operating profit among KOSPI-listed companies exceeds its market capitalization share, making it difficult to conclude that its corporate value is overvalued relative to its profit-generating ability.
However, this should not be viewed solely through the lens of market harshness. The competition in AI semiconductors is just beginning. As the market expands beyond generative AI to include agentic AI and physical AI, competition surrounding next-generation memory after HBM, advanced packaging, and AI system semiconductors is expected to intensify. The current record performance is both a result of industrial change and an indication of investment capacity for future competition.
The ongoing demand for new achievements from Samsung also stems from this context. The era where corporate value was determined solely by memory market share has passed. Factors such as the speed of technology development, securing clients, supply chain stability, and the ability to invest in large-scale facilities are now all criteria for competitiveness. The higher the company ranks globally, the higher the standards become.
What matters is not just quarterly results or short-term stock prices. The key question is whether Samsung can maintain its global technology leadership in the AI era. Samsung's investment direction has a cascading impact on the domestic semiconductor ecosystem, as well as the materials, components, and equipment industries, employment, and export competitiveness. This connection extends beyond individual corporate performance to national industrial competitiveness.
Samsung's need to continuously prove itself is not due to market skepticism. Companies that set the standards for the global semiconductor industry bear significant responsibility. Achieving record performance is not an end but a new starting point. Moving forward, the focus will be on how long Samsung can maintain technological leadership in the AI era based on these records. This is the expectation of the market regarding Samsung and a challenge that the Korean industry must address together.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.