📊 Samsung Electronics: HBM and earnings uncertainties after the fine - 2026.10.27

Well, Samsung Electronics is having another busy day~ After watching the market for 30 years, I’ve learned that news tends to arrive all at once on days like this. With the fine and earnings week landing together, let’s take them one at a time. 📊

Let’s start with the fine

The Fair Trade Commission imposed a fine over the Galaxy GOS controversy. Money Today reported that Samsung Electronics plans to sue over the 20,000,000,000 KRW fine ^[1]. The key issue is that the company highlighted gaming performance without disclosing that peak performance was limited ^[2]. The controversy first surfaced in 2022, and the penalty came four years later, so quite a bit of time has passed ^[2]. The same matter was also reported as deceptive advertising ^[3]. However, reports put the fine at 20,000,000,000 KRW, so it’s best to check the original articles again for the exact figure. One thing I’ve learned from watching the market for a long time is that exaggerated advertising tends to erode trust before it affects the stock price~

Four years under Lee Jae-yong, and HBM is shaking things up again

Today marks the fourth anniversary of Chairman Lee Jae-yong taking office. The assessment is that, after overcoming a semiconductor downturn and weak earnings, the company is now looking toward record results on the back of the AI semiconductor boom ^[4]. The key themes are recovering HBM competitiveness and regaining memory leadership through HBM4 ^[4]; from a macro perspective, too, signs of resilient AI demand are welcome news for the bulls. Now, now—how can you sit still when you hear that memory leadership is coming back? 🔥

Earnings week: shareholder returns are still only a possibility

Reports say SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics will announce their third-quarter results this week, with attention focused on the two companies’ large-scale shareholder return policies ^[5]. The important point is that this is a third party’s observation. It shouldn’t be read as a plan confirmed by the companies; the actual announcements will need to be checked. There’s also news that additional 2-nanometer equipment orders have been placed for the Taylor plant ^[6], but forecasts about production scale or timing should be treated only as conditional opinions from the reporting source.

Today’s numbers and the questions that remain

On the price front, Samsung Electronics closed at ₩221,000 on October 27, with a change of +3.76% and trading volume of 11,499,531. The previous trading day’s closing price was ₩213,500, so the trend has clearly improved. 📈 Still, I won’t infer the direction from this one figure alone. There are three questions: how the company will respond to the fine, whether shareholder returns will show up as actual figures in the earnings announcement, and whether a recovery in HBM4 leadership will be backed by earnings. Onion thinks the bullish scenario will become clearer if HBM4 is reflected in the results. This week’s numbers will tell us whether that assumption holds.

📰 Reference News (5)

2

Samsung Electronics hid Galaxy gaming performance limits… fine of 20,100,000,000 KRW

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.27

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3

Samsung Electronics fined 20 billion for ‘deceptive advertising’ - Bridge Economy

브릿지경제 · 2026.10.27

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4

[Four years since Lee Jae-yong took office - achievements] ① Four years leading the AI semiconductor rebound… Lee to regain memory leadership with HBM4

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.27

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5

Ahead of earnings announcements from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix

네이버뉴스 · 2026.10.27

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📺 Reference Videos (1)

6

YouTube

Samsung Electronics to expand US 2-nanometer equipment… forecast to produce 20,000 wafers per month in the second half of next year

▶서울경제TV·2026.10.25