IBK Securities Calls Samsung Electronics Undervalued Ahead of Record Q3 Earnings

The Quick Take

• IBK Securities analyst Kim Un-ho maintained a buy rating on Samsung Electronics with a KRW 460,000 target price, arguing the stock is significantly undervalued given Q3 earnings strength.
• Samsung's Q3 2026 operating profit is expected to comfortably surpass 100 trillion won, driven by memory supply shortages intensifying as HBM4 capacity displaces general DRAM production.
• IBK Securities also issued a buy call on Dongkuk Pharmaceutical at a KRW 30,000 target, citing healthcare and cosmetics division growth and international market expansion opportunities.

Samsung Electronics has underperformed its memory sector peers in the current rally cycle, partly due to concerns around its HBM4 qualification timeline with NVIDIA versus SK Hynix's more established position. IBK Securities' call that the stock is undervalued reflects a view that the market is pricing too much risk around the NVIDIA qualification outcome relative to Samsung's diversified revenue base across DRAM, NAND, foundry, and consumer electronics. At KRW 460,000, the target implies meaningful upside from current levels, suggesting a consensus re-rating opportunity if Samsung's Q3 earnings validate the supply-shortage-driven pricing improvement thesis.

A Samsung Q3 beat above 100 trillion won in operating profit would trigger a sector-wide re-rating of Korean memory stocks, lifting SK Hynix as the higher-beta play and supporting Micron's global valuation multiple. The India angle is that Samsung operates one of its largest mobile device manufacturing facilities in Noida, and a sustained Korean electronics earnings recovery typically sustains investment in the Indian manufacturing expansion. For Korean equity funds and KOSPI-linked ETFs, a Samsung re-rating improves index-level performance, benefiting investors globally with broad emerging market equity exposure.

The critical near-term catalyst is Samsung's official Q3 2026 earnings announcement, typically released in late October. Any upward revision to the 100 trillion won consensus would accelerate the de-rating of the embedded discount in Samsung's current stock price. Monitor NVIDIA's AI chip backlog and production throughput updates for read-through into HBM4 demand volumes. The macro variable underpinning the Samsung bull case is whether global AI capex remains on the growth trajectory outlined by hyperscalers in their Q3 earnings calls — any downward revision to data center spending would compress the HBM demand outlook immediately.

Synthesized from 2 sources.