Nomura raises Samsung Electronics target price to 670,000 won, lifts Q2 operating profit forecast to 76 trillion won

Nomura Securities has raised its target price for Samsung Electronics from 590,000 won ($384) to 670,000 won.

According to the financial investment industry on Wednesday, Nomura Securities said in a recent report that Samsung Electronics is expected to beat second-quarter earnings estimates, citing lower-than-anticipated bonus provision costs.

The brokerage also raised its second-quarter operating profit forecast for Samsung Electronics to 76 trillion won from a previous estimate of 67 trillion won. It noted that while it had originally factored in a 24 trillion won bonus provision for the quarter, the final labor-management agreement set the bonus payout rate at 10.5 percent — below the assumed 12 percent.

Nomura added that even assuming all first-half bonus provisions are recognized in the second quarter, it now estimates total bonus provisions at 19 trillion won, lower than its earlier projection. The firm said the reduced bonus cost burden means second-quarter earnings will exceed its previous forecast.

Nomura put Samsung Electronics' return on equity for 2026 and 2027 at around 60 percent.

On that basis, the firm said it sees roughly 90 percent upside from the current share price, reiterating a buy rating alongside the 670,000 won target.

Samsung Electronics closed at 310,000 won on Tuesday. As of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, the stock was trading at 328,750 won.

However, Nomura cautioned that downside risks to earnings remain in the non-memory chip business.

Nomura Securities said on June 12 that the semiconductor "super cycle" was "only just beginning."

Nomura held a "2026 Korea Economy and Stock Market Media Briefing" at Seoul Finance Center in Jung-gu, Seoul that day. Jeong Chang-won, co-head of Asia research, said monthly memory chip sales this year were showing a near-vertical rise — a pattern never seen before.

"Investors may wonder whether to sell once memory prices level off after a steep climb, but what matters is valuation," Jeong said. "Taking that into account, I believe the semiconductor super cycle has only just begun."

He added that AI-driven memory demand is expected to grow 10,000 to 20,000 times over five years. "We are heading into an entirely new world unlike anything we have seen before," he said.

Jeong said concerns about AI companies running short of investment funds had already faded from the market by the end of March. "Investment is now being driven by conviction in the fundamental belief that memory demand will continue," he said.

Meanwhile, Nomura raised its Kospi target range to 10,000–11,000 on May 20.

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