SEOUL, July 7, 2026, 17:24 (KST)
- Samsung Electronics KRX:005930 said it expects second-quarter sales of around 171 trillion won and operating profit of 89.4 trillion won. Despite the guidance, shares fell 6.9% at the close.
- KOSPI dropped 4.9% to finish at 7,656.31 after sliding as much as 8.2% earlier. The market saw its sixth circuit-breaker halt this year.
- Foreign investors offloaded 2.9 trillion won in Korean stocks, while retail buyers picked up 3.2 trillion won. Retail margin debt held just under its record from late June.
- SK Hynix KRX:000660 is pitching a 43 trillion won ADR offering for Nasdaq, putting another big deal in front of the AI memory market.
South Korea’s chip market tumbled on Tuesday even with Samsung Electronics Co KRX:005930 reporting record numbers. The company said it expects second-quarter operating profit of about 89.4 trillion won, up from 57.23 trillion won in Q1 and 4.68 trillion won a year ago. Sales guidance was about 171 trillion won, up from 133.87 trillion won last quarter and 74.57 trillion won in the same period last year.
KOSPI fell 4.9% to finish at 7,656.31, after dropping as much as 8.2% during the day. Samsung dropped 6.9%. SK Hynix Inc KRX:000660 ended down 6.1%. Both names pared some of their losses before the close. The stock still ended lower.
Samsung’s guidance and Reuters market data show the divide between earnings and price like this:
| Measure | Latest figure | Comparison | Investor read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung sales | 171 trillion won | Q1 came in at 133.87 trillion won; same quarter last year was 74.57 trillion won | Revenue hit a new high |
| Samsung operating profit | 89.4 trillion won | Q1 showed 57.23 trillion won; a year ago, just 4.68 trillion won | Profit is up 56% over last quarter and nearly 19x the year-ago result |
| Samsung shares | Closed down 6.9% | Dropped more than 10% at session low | The earnings beat was priced in |
| SK Hynix shares | Closed down 6.1% | Also dropped over 10% intraday | Selling pressure hit the other South Korean chip name |
| KOSPI | 7,656.31, off 4.9% | Now 16% under the June 22 record; still boasts an 82% gain for the year | Chip moves are driving index risk |
Mirae Asset Securities analyst Seo Sang-young called Samsung’s numbers “good news,” but said they weren’t “entirely” positive, noting market hopes had become too high. Kiwoom Securities’s Han Ji-young said the chip business had “no issue,” but blamed profit-taking for more volatility. Morningstar analyst Jing Jie Yu said there was a “slight revenue miss,” with DRAM prices rising less than the market had expected. Reuters
Investors focused on flows Tuesday. Foreigners unloaded a net 2.9 trillion won in Korean stocks, while retail investors picked up 3.2 trillion won. Retail borrowing in KOSPI names hit 29.7 trillion won as of Friday, just shy of the late-June high at 29.8 trillion. Mirae Asset’s Kim Seok-hwan said retail buyers were “buying the dip.” Reuters
The market faces another test this week as SK Hynix launches its U.S. listing. The chipmaker is offering 17.79 million new shares via American depositary receipts, at 10 ADRs to one common share. The pricing comes Thursday, ahead of a Friday debut.
| Flow or supply item | Size | Comparison |
|---|---|---|
| SK Hynix ADR sale | 43 trillion won, or $28.07 billion | Roughly 15 times the foreign net selling in Korea seen Tuesday |
| Indicated interest from major investors | Up to $7 billion | About a quarter the size of the ADR sale |
| Tuesday foreign net selling in Korea | 2.9 trillion won | Less than one day’s take from retail buyers |
| Tuesday retail net buying in Korea | 3.2 trillion won | Roughly a thirteenth the size of SK Hynix’s sale |
| Retail margin debt | 29.7 trillion won | 0.3% below the late-June peak |
Thornburg Investment Management portfolio manager Di Zhou said this is a “memory super cycle” and thinks the ADR could help close SK Hynix’s valuation gap with Micron Technology Inc NASDAQ:MU. Roundhill Investments CEO Dave Mazza called the U.S. listing an “accessibility discount” event. Standard Chartered’s equity CIO Sundeep Gantori said the memory cycle seems in a “mid-cycle stage.” Reuters
Other major Korean names weighed on the market. LG Energy Solution Ltd KRX:373220 dropped 6.4% after it flagged a 77% slide in April-June operating profit. Hanwha Ocean Co Ltd (KRX:042660) plunged 22.7% after Canada chose German submarines for a contract, passing over South Korean companies.
Losses spread across Asia, though drops were sharper in Korea. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 2.1%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.7%. Shanghai’s Composite dropped 1.3%, and Taiwan’s Taiex was down 2.3%. In the U.S. on Monday, the S&P 500 closed up 0.7%, the Nasdaq Composite added 1.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3% to close at a new high.
Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management called the Samsung slide the “first proper AI stress test.” He pointed out the shares fell after a very strong quarter, not after a demand warning. Samsung will release its full Q2 results and break down earnings by division on July 30. AP News
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