Samsung shares slide despite profit exceeding Nvidia and Apple

Summary

Kristina Partsinevelos reports on Samsung's strong quarterly profit that still led to a sharp share decline. She explains the sell-off was driven by ultra-high investor expectations, whisper numbers, and spreading weakness across memory names like SK Hynix and Micron. Analyst notes point to memory exhaustion and ADR-related overcapacity fears, but industry fundamentals remain solid with DRAM prices forecast to climb strongly this quarter.

• Samsung posted a blowout quarter with operating profit up 19-fold and revenue at a record, yet shares fell up to 10%.
• The stock's 380% one-year gain meant beating Wall Street estimates by 6% wasn't enough; it needed to clear higher whisper numbers.
• Sell-off spread to SK Hynix (-6%), the KOSPI (-5% with circuit breaker), and US peers Micron (-6%) and Sandisk (-9%).
• Morgan Stanley called the move 'memory exhaustion,' and the upcoming $28 billion SK Hynix ADR listing may be adding selling pressure and long-term overcapacity concerns.
• Kristina Partsinevelos emphasized that Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are not interchangeable due to their different AI exposure and business models.
• Despite the pullback, Counterpoint Research sees DRAM prices rising 10–20% this quarter, signaling industry fundamentals remain strong.