Samsung Hits $1 Trillion Valuation as Shares Surge Over 10%

Shares of Samsung Electronics surged more than 10% on Wednesday, propelling the chipmaker's market capitalization past the $1 trillion mark. The gain made Samsung the second Asian company to reach this valuation level after TSMC.

The advance occurred as investors continued directing capital into artificial intelligence-linked stocks. The rally built directly on Samsung Electronics' first-quarter earnings, which were released the prior week.

Operating profit rose more than eightfold to 57.2 trillion won while revenue reached a record 133.9 trillion Korean won. The quarterly operating profit alone exceeded the company's full-year 2025 total of 43.6 trillion won.

A Bloomberg report added to the positive momentum by noting that Apple has held exploratory talks with Samsung and Intel about producing chips for Apple devices in the United States. Any such arrangement would allow Apple to diversify beyond its longtime supplier TSMC.

Shares of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix rose more than 9% in the same session. The broader gains helped lift the benchmark Kospi index more than 5% to a record above 7,000 for the first time.