Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) shares dropped sharply in Asian trading, spearheading a wider sell-off in semiconductor equities as investors capitalized on gains from the artificial intelligence–driven rally.
The South Korean memory chip producer announced preliminary operating profits of roughly $58 billion for the second quarter, representing a nineteenfold increase year-over-year and surpassing consensus forecasts.
Nevertheless, Samsung’s stock tumbled as much as 10% in Seoul, with shareholders securing profits after the shares had appreciated nearly 150% since January.
“The results outperformed estimates by a mere 6%, seemingly triggering a wave of profit-taking,” Deutsche Bank analysts commented in a note Tuesday morning.
David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, observed that “investors appear worried semiconductor and adjacent AI stocks could find it difficult to sustain current sales volumes and margins going forward.”
Micron Technology (MU) declined over 4%, while SanDisk (SNDK) and Western Digital (WDC) each slid more than 7%.
Market participants monitored Samsung’s figures closely, as the firm—together with SK Hynix (000660.KS) and Micron—serves as a key indicator for the AI investment theme.
A severe supply bottleneck for high-bandwidth memory used in data-center processors has driven manufacturer valuations upward this year, with Wall Street anticipating shortages persisting through 2027.
Samsung continues to be the globe’s foremost memory producer, dominating both DRAM and NAND flash output.
In May, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron collectively surpassed a $1 trillion market capitalization before retreating amid fears the AI enthusiasm might constitute a bubble.
