Net Profit Surpasses Nvidia but Stock Price Crashes; JPMorgan Reaffirms “Overweight” Rating on Samsung Electronics - NAI500

Samsung Electronics released strong preliminary results for Q2 2026, significantly exceeding market expectations despite a one-time provision of over 15 trillion won in labor costs. The company's resi... Read original →

Samsung’s Q2 profit surpassing NVIDIA yet triggering a stock sell-off reveals investor skepticism toward execution sustainability. Technically, while HBM and NAND price surges boosted earnings, its lagging 4nm yield versus TSMC continues to bleed the foundry segment, undermining AI chip synergy. Regulatory headwinds—including tighter U.S.-ROK export controls and surging Korean labor costs—will structurally inflate operating leverage. With TSMC dominating CoWoS packaging and 3nm capacity, Samsung must secure anchor AI chip deals (e.g., with Qualcomm or Google) to revive its logic business. Over the next 12–24 months, a potential memory cycle peak and AI capex slowdown could expose Samsung’s overreliance on volatile DRAM/NAND markets. JPMorgan’s 'Overweight' call hinges on valuation, but real momentum depends on closing the loop between memory leadership and competitive logic manufacturing by 2027.