[Edaily Reporter Kim Hyung-il ] iM Securities raised its target price for SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD.(006400)to 800,000 won, forecasting that earnings improvement will gain momentum, driven primarily by energy storage systems (ESS). The firm maintained its “Buy” rating. The target price is 47.87% higher than last Friday’s (the 18th) closing price of 541,000 won.

On the 21st, Jeong Won-seok, an analyst at SamsungSecurities, forecast SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD.’s third-quarter earnings, stating, “The company is expected to exceed market expectations by posting revenue of 4.1 trillion won and operating profit of 285 billion won.” Market expectations stand at 4 trillion won in revenue and 115.9 billion won in operating profit.

Following the refund of reciprocal tariffs in the previous quarter, the third quarter is expected to see an earnings surprise despite the decline in the won-dollar exchange rate, as compensation for automakers’ failure to meet minimum purchase volumes will be reflected. Excluding one-time factors, performance by business segment is also expected to improve, led by ESS.

Third-quarter ESS revenue is expected to increase by approximately 32% compared to the previous quarter as the supply of volumes for domestic central contract market projects—which had been deferred from the previous quarter—begins in earnest. For cylindrical batteries, revenue is projected to rise by about 6% due to increased demand for BBUs (Battery Pack Assemblies) for power tools and AIDC (Artificial Intelligence Data Centers), and the segment is expected to return to profitability. In contrast, revenue for automotive batteries is forecast to decline by about 3% due to reduced shipments from the U.S. SPE plant to Europe, resulting from inventory adjustments by a major customer.

SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD. announced in August its plan to acquire the entire stake in SDI-GM Synergy Cells, a joint venture with GM, thereby transitioning the entity to sole ownership. Analyst Jeong explained that this move will secure the company’s first wholly-owned large-scale battery production hub in North America.

SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD. plans to secure approximately 35 GWh of ESS production capacity by the end of next year. The company also intends to establish a production line for ESS batteries at the Synergy Cells plant currently under construction in the U.S. Analyst Jeong assessed that, considering the plant’s commissioning schedule and customer certification timelines, it is highly likely that the ESS production line will be expanded in phases starting in the second half of 2028.

Researcher Jeong assessed, “This decision is a strategic choice to seize business opportunities in the North American ESS market—which is growing faster than expected—by restructuring the production framework in response to the slowdown in U.S. EV demand.” He added, “As securing additional production capacity leads to an expansion of new orders, the growth potential and visibility of North American ESS sales will increase starting in 2028.”

iM Securities projected that SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD.’s operating profit would increase from approximately 600 billion won this year to approximately 2.4 trillion won in 2028. The target price was calculated using a sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) valuation method, which combines the enterprise value—derived by applying the global power equipment sector’s average EV/EBITDA multiple of 12.1x to the projected 2028 EBITDA—with the value of Samsung SDI’s stake in Samsung Display.

Analyst Jeong stated, “The role of ESS is expanding beyond that of a storage device for renewable energy integration to become a core infrastructure supporting the stable power supply for artificial intelligence data centers (AIDCs),” adding, “SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD.’s valuation should also be reassessed to reflect the growth potential of the power infrastructure industry, moving away from the existing EV-centric evaluation.”