"Why Only Samjeon Isn't Rising Is Frustrating"... Shareholders Hopeful for '100,000-Won Electronics'

"It is frustrating that the stock prices of other semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) related companies are rising, but Samsung Electronics' stock price is not."

On the morning of the 20th, shareholders who attended Samsung Electronics' 55th regular general meeting of shareholders held at the Suwon Convention Center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, expressed disappointment, saying that the driving force behind Samsung Electronics' stock price increase is weak. Most of them firmly believed that the company has the potential to raise the stock price sufficiently, not only to '80,000-won Samsung Electronics' but also to '100,000-won Samsung Electronics.' As of the previous day, Samsung Electronics' closing price was 72,800 won, down 8.5% from 79,600 won at the beginning of the year. During the same period, SK Hynix's stock price rose 12.5%, and TSMC's stock price rose 28.5%.

Park Seong-cheol (68), who has invested about 5 million won in Samsung Electronics since the stock price was in the 80,000 won range four years ago, said, "There are many issues such as new businesses and labor union disputes at Samsung Electronics, but the biggest problem is still stock price management," adding, "The HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) semiconductor business is full of talk, but it is frustrating that it has not produced clear results to raise the stock price."

Support messages written by shareholders on memo pads prepared at the Samsung Electronics 55th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.
[Photo by Moon Chae-seok]

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Shareholders showed interest in Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, stating that he is testing Samsung Electronics' HBM. Many were curious about the opinions of Samsung Electronics' management as they do not know the internal management situation precisely.

A female office worker, A, who said she took a half-day leave to attend, said, "In fact, companies like Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Nvidia, and Intel heavily promote that their businesses will do well, so I plan to invest in Samsung Electronics without being swayed by that," adding, "Although the Galaxy S24 looks similar to other companies' smartphones, I believe Samsung Electronics has definite growth potential as it introduced innovation as an 'AI phone.'"

There was also a 'stock market beginner' shareholder who has been investing for less than a year. College student B, who only holds Samsung Electronics semiconductor stocks, said, "If I were given the right to ask Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee a question, I would like to ask about the XR (Extended Reality) device market and the 'XR alliance' formed with Google and Qualcomm."

A shareholder is experiencing the 'Sangsaeng Market' set up in the lobby of the Samsung Electronics 55th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.
[Photo by Moon Chaeseok]

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Shareholders eating food at the 'Win-Win Market' booth set up by Samsung Electronics at the general meeting were also noticeable. The Win-Win Market is a booth exhibiting and selling products from 12 small and medium-sized enterprises supported by Samsung Electronics' smart factory support project. C, who has been investing in Samsung Electronics for five years since the stock price was '50,000 won Samsung Electronics' in 2020, said, "I came an hour early on purpose to participate in the event," adding, "I have been to several companies' general meetings, but they were stiff atmospheres; Samsung Electronics' general meeting was refreshing."

C gave a somewhat cold evaluation of Samsung Electronics' business. C said, "The most frustrated people because of the HBM business are probably Samsung Electronics employees, and SK Hynix is a mountain that must be overcome anyway," adding, "I just hope Samsung Electronics surpasses SK Hynix."

From around 8 a.m., before the start of the general meeting, about 30 shareholders toured the center's 3rd-floor central lobby, Win-Win Market, and exhibition spaces to experience the products. Overall, about 600 shareholders visited the general meeting venue. At the meeting, all six agenda items, including ▲approval of financial statements ▲appointment of outside director Shin Je-yoon ▲appointment of outside director Cho Hye-kyung as a member of the audit committee ▲appointment of Yoo Myung-hee as a member of the audit committee ▲approval of the director remuneration limit, were all passed.

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