Samsung Electronics' stock has taken a beating over the past year, declining 33% and hitting a 4-year low just last month. While some securities firms in South Korea were hopeful of a rebound in 2025, a few are sounding the alarm bells for a lower gain than initially expected.
The stock is currently trading at 53,200 won, roughly $36, while it had touched nearly $60 at one point last year. Investors are understandably concerned as they've missed significant rallies in other South Korean equities, such as SK Hynix, which is up 22% for the year.
It's been a tough year for investors in Samsung Electronics
The company's struggles in the semiconductor industry have hammered its stock, and securities firms feel that it would continue to weigh down the stock in 2025. Korea Investment & Securities has cut its price target by 7% from 83,000 ($56) to 77,000 ($52) won, while maintaining a buy rating on the stock.
Some analysts are of the view that Samsung's stock price could decline further in the short term due to poor fourth-quarter results. They expect that its performance would have fallen short of market expectations, which typically results in a hit for the stock price.
Samsung is facing increasing competition from Chinese memory makers in the legacy DRAM space. Their prices are less than half of what Samsung charges. This rapid decline in average selling price has had a major impact on the company's revenues.
A diversified product mix would help ease those pressures, but the company's inability to win any significant orders for HBM3E memory has only compounded its misery. Meanwhile, SK Hynix has run away with the HBM3E order book, a major reason why its stock is up double digits in contrast to Samsung's.
The company has taken some steps to improve matters. It's focusing on taking the lead with HBM4 memory, overhauling the foundry division to win large orders for the 2nm process and also expand the order book for legacy nodes.
