Samsung's AI-Memory Juggernaut Pushed Shares Up 12% in a Week — Can the Chip Boom Outrun the Rest of the Business?

Shares surged as Samsung rode a wave of AI-memory euphoria, climbing roughly 12% over five trading sessions to $3,295 — a rally fueled by next-generation chip milestones, record earnings, and Wall Street upgrades. The question for investors: how long can a single division carry an entire conglomerate?

Record Profits Show Samsung Is Basically a Memory Company Now

Samsung posted record Q1 2026 revenue of 133.9 trillion won (~$91 billion), up 69% year-over-year, with operating profit hitting 57.2 trillion won (~$39 billion) — a 756% annual jump.

The semiconductor division accounted for more than 93% of total profits.

Remarkably, Q1 profit alone exceeded all of Samsung's full-year 2025 earnings of 43.6 trillion won. That concentration means any hiccup in memory pricing would ripple through the entire income statement.

First-to-Market HBM4 Gives Samsung Pricing Power It Hasn't Had in Years

Samsung began mass production of HBM4 — a next-generation chip essential for AI data centers — claiming it was first in the industry.

The company expects HBM sales to more than triple in 2026 versus 2025.

As of late May, Samsung started shipping even faster HBM4E samples to major customers , keeping it ahead on the roadmap. Per-stack HBM4 pricing is estimated in the mid-$500 range, over 50% above the prior generation , directly lifting average selling prices and profit per chip.

Analysts Are Piling On Bullish Calls

The consensus rating from 36 analysts is "Strong Buy," with 36 recommending purchase and only one suggesting a sell.

Macquarie raised its target price 37% to KRW 240,000 , while Susquehanna set a target of KRW 850,000 on June 1.

Samsung's memory chief warned that demand fulfillment is at a record low, with customers pulling forward 2027 orders — a signal that pricing strength could persist well beyond this quarter.

The Other Samsung Businesses Are Quietly Bleeding

Mobile and network division profit fell 35%, and display profit dropped 20% , squeezed by the same rising chip costs that are fattening the memory unit's margins. Samsung's mobile division has internally warned that 2026 could bring its first-ever annual loss. Investors cheering the AI story should note the conglomerate's non-chip businesses are subsidized by the very pricing power now driving the stock. If memory prices cool, there is no profit cushion elsewhere.