Samsung Electro-Mechanics outpaces Samsung Electronics, SK hynix with nearly 450% gain this year

Samsung Electro-Mechanics has surged nearly 450% this year, making it the best-performing stock on the Kospi — far outpacing semiconductor heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. It is the only large-cap stock among the top market capitalization names to crack the top 10 in year-to-date gains.

According to Korea Exchange, the company's share price climbed from 255,000 won ($188) at the end of last year to 1.4 million won on Friday, a gain of 449.41%. Its preferred shares also surged 331.90%, rising from 116,000 won to 501,000 won over the same period, ranking fifth on the Kospi.

Other strong performers included Kumho Electric (up 367.18%), Gaon Cable (363.00%), Daewoo Engineering & Construction (341.10%) and Kumho Engineering & Construction (303.26%), all posting gains above 300% — but none matched Samsung Electro-Mechanics' advance.

The outperformance is especially striking when measured against other large-cap stocks. Samsung Electro-Mechanics is the only top-tier blue chip to place within the Kospi's top 10 for year-to-date returns.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix — the Kospi's two largest stocks by market cap, both lifted by the semiconductor supercycle — gained 113.09% (ranked 25th) and 153.00% (ranked 16th), respectively.

Even as recent market turbulence has pushed the Kospi down to the 6,600 level, brokerages have continued to raise their targets for Samsung Electro-Mechanics, citing strong catalysts including a 1 trillion won multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) supply contract signed with a global big-tech company.

The MLCC supply contract disclosed Tuesday was valued at 1.07 trillion won, covering deliveries from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 next year. Including that deal, Samsung Electro-Mechanics has disclosed three MLCC supply contracts this year totaling 1.82 trillion won.

DB Securities recently raised its target price for Samsung Electro-Mechanics from 1.5 million won to 2 million won. Kyobo Securities maintained the highest target among domestic brokerages at 3 million won, while Daishin Securities held its target at 2.8 million won.

Jo Hyeon-ji, a researcher at DB Securities, said supply constraints from capacity erosion and high technical barriers — with fewer than three stable server-grade suppliers for both MLCC and flip-chip ball grid array (FC-BGA) products — make further selling-price increases likely.

Park Gang-ho, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said Samsung Electro-Mechanics is on track to post record quarterly sales and operating profit in the third quarter, adding that even after accounting for a 10 percent drop in the average won-dollar exchange rate — which stood at 1,452 won as of Wednesday — the outlook still exceeds prior estimates and market consensus. He attributed this to deepening supply shortages for FC-BGA and MLCC components, both critical to AI infrastructure.

Daishin Securities estimated Samsung Electro-Mechanics' third-quarter operating profit at 636.3 billion won, up 144.5 percent from a year earlier and above the market consensus of 596 billion won. DB Securities projected third-quarter operating profit at 621 billion won. Both brokerages expect the operating profit margin to reach the mid-16 percent range in the quarter.

Annual forecasts are also climbing. Daishin Securities projected Samsung Electro-Mechanics' operating profit at 2 trillion won this year, 3.3 trillion won next year and 3.98 trillion won in 2028, forecasting a string of all-time highs. DB Securities was even more bullish, projecting 3.9 trillion won next year and 7 trillion won by 2028.