[Edaily Reporter Shin Ha-yeon ] Following his purchase of SamsungElectronics shares worth approximately 1.9 trillion won from his mother, Hong Ra-hee, Honorary Director of the Leeum Museum of Art, Chairman Jay Y. Lee SamsungElectronics(005930) is set to receive an additional 2.6 trillion won worth of shares as a gift. Amid the recent sharp decline in stock prices, market observers are interpreting these successive share acquisitions as a “sign that the market has bottomed out.”

According to the “Report on Changes in Shareholdings by Major Shareholders and Others” disclosed by SamsungElectronics on the 13th, Chairman Lee purchased 7,667,100 shares of SamsungElectronics common stock from Honorary Director Hong in an over-the-counter transaction on the 12th. The acquisition price per share was 250,500 won, bringing the total transaction value to 1.9206855 trillion won. Following the transaction, Chairman Lee’s holdings of common stock increased from 97,414,196 shares to 105,081,296 shares.

Separately, Honorary Director Hong plans to gift 11,158,000 shares of SamsungElectronics common stock to Chairman Lee on November 12. Based on the previous day’s closing price of 232,000 won per share, this amounts to approximately 2.5887 trillion won. The combined value of the over-the-counter purchase and the shares to be gifted totals approximately 4.5094 trillion won.

Once the gift is finalized, Chairman Lee’s total holdings of SamsungElectronics stock—combining common and preferred shares—will increase to 116,377,053 shares. According to public filings, his ownership stake will rise from 1.58% following the over-the-counter purchase to 1.75% after the gift is completed. Director Hong’s stake will decrease from 0.99% to 0.82%.

Interest in this share transfer is heightened because SamsungElectronics’ stock price has recently undergone a significant correction. Typically, major shareholders can reduce their tax burden by gifting shares when the stock price is low, even while transferring the same percentage of ownership. If they expect the stock price to recover in the future, gifting the shares before the price rises is advantageous from a tax perspective. This is the backdrop against which some individual investors are speculating that the major shareholder may view the current stock price as having hit bottom.

Based on a simple calculation using the closing price on the 13th, the tax liability resulting from this gift amounts to approximately 1.55 trillion won. The value of the 11,158,000 shares scheduled for donation, calculated by multiplying the 232,000 won per share, totals approximately 2.5887 trillion won. When the 20% valuation premium applied to shares held by the largest shareholder and related parties is factored in, the assessed value rises to approximately 3.1064 trillion won. This figure represents the amount calculated by applying the maximum gift tax rate of 50% to that value and is an estimate prior to accounting for progressive deductions and tax credit for filing.

However, the actual gift tax is not determined based on the stock price on the date the gift plan was announced. In principle, listed stocks are valued by averaging the daily closing prices published during the two-month periods immediately before and after the date of the gift. If the gift is made as scheduled on the 12th of next month, the stock price trends from last September through January of next year will be reflected in the assessed value. Since the tax burden could increase if the stock price rises afterward, it is difficult to conclude that the major shareholder judged this to be a short-term low based solely on this gift plan.

Meanwhile, SamsungElectronics partially recovered from the sharp decline the previous day. At 9:13 a.m. that day, SamsungElectronics was trading at 240,500 won, up 8,500 won (3.66%) from the previous trading day. SK hynix(000660)also rose 2.43% at the same time, as major semiconductor stocks rebounded in tandem.

Another factor in gauging a trend reversal in stock prices is the sustainability of earnings growth. Analysts in the securities industry have projected that the advancement of High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) products will continue to support memory prices and earnings next year. KB Securities estimated SamsungElectronics’ fourth-quarter operating profit at 114 trillion won, forecasting a 6% increase from the previous quarter.

Kim Dong-won, Head of Research at SamsungSecurities, stated in a recent report, “SamsungElectronics’ 2027 HBM selling price is expected to rise by more than 100% year-over-year, driven by the industry-leading HBM4, and will lead the rise in DRAM prices next year,” adding “Regarding future shareholder return policies, the company is expected to simultaneously pursue dividends and share buybacks, and with the possibility of returning more than 50% of free cash flow (FCF), an expansion in the scale of shareholder returns is anticipated,” he added.

Son In-jun, an analyst at EUGENE INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, also projected SamsungElectronics’ operating profit for the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year at 118.8 trillion won and 138.6 trillion won, respectively. He noted, “As the market’s focus shifts from price momentum to the sustainability of profit levels, consistently strong quarterly earnings and expanded shareholder returns are expected to gradually alleviate market concerns,” and “We believe the memory sector will continue its gradual upward trend in stock prices over the medium to long term as it demonstrates its fundamentals,” he noted.