Samsung Electronics’ Share Price Rises Exceed Apple’s by 10% Points

Since October last year, Samsung Electronics’ share price increases have exceeded that of its competitor Apple by more than 10 percent points. Samsung Electronics’ share price has continued to reach a record high and accounted for more than 20 percent in market capitalization of the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) for the first time in four years after 2013.

Samsung Electronics finished at a fresh record high of 1,914,000 won (US$1,596) on January 11, up 2.79 percent, or 52,000 won (US$43) from the previous day's close. The figure increased for a fourth straight session. This is the first time for Samsung Electronics to surpass 1,900,000 won (US$1,585) as of the closing price after it went public in 1975. During the trading session on the same day, Samsung Electronics’ share price rose to 1,928,000 won (US$1,608), hitting an all-time high. Institutional investors are selling the stocks due to profit taking, but foreign investors are buying them, leading to the increase in its stock prices. 

Samsung Electronics’ rally in the stock market, which has started in earnest in October last year, is largely due to the company’s improvement in performance with better semiconductor market conditions. In particular, this is in stark contrast to its global competitor Apple which is suffering from the stock price volatility caused by its poor performance. Samsung Electronics said on the 6th that it recorded an estimated operating profit of 9.2 trillion won (US$7.67 billion) in the fourth quarter last year. This is the highest figure in a quarter after 10.2 trillion won (US$8.51 billion) in the third quarter of 2013. On the other hand, Apple, which is scheduled to announce the Q4 results at the end of this month, reported a year-over-year decline in its annual sales and net profit as of the last fiscal year for the first time in 15 years. Accordingly, Apple penalized CEO Tim Cook with a 15 percent pay cut.

The performance of the two companies was reflected to their share prices. Samsung Electronics, which showed an upturn for two months, started a rebound in earnest on October 4. Assuming the two companies’ stock prices on the same day were 100 points, Samsung Electronics’ stock price index reached 118.53 points on the 11th, while Apple stood at 105.4 points. In short, Samsung Electronics’ stock price increased 18.53 percent, while Apple saw its stock price grow 5.4 percent over the same period.