Samsung Rejoins $1T Market Cap Club, Closes In on Tesla

Samsung has once again joined the $1 trillion market capitalization club, now closing in on Tesla in the global rankings. This comes about two months after the Korean giant briefly fell below the trillion-dollar mark. The firm’s booming memory chip business may have greatly increased its market appeal among investors.

The AI chip boom may have helped Samsung to reach the trillion-dollar club

On February 26, Samsung crossed the $1 trillion market capitalization mark for the first time. It became only the second Asian company, after Taiwan’s TSMC, to hit that mark. However, the celebration did not last long as the company’s valuation dropped by more than $100 billion within days. As a result, the firm went back below the trillion-dollar line.

Earlier this week, Samsung reclaimed the $1 trillion club. More importantly, the Korean giant is now moving closer to Tesla in the ranking of the most valuable companies. As of this writing, Samsung’s market value is $1.203 trillion (11th position), while Tesla’s valuation is $1.497 trillion (10th position).

Samsung’s strong Q1 2026 performance may have played a key role in the company’s latest comeback. The company saw an operating profit of KRW 57.2 trillion, an 8.5-fold increase from the same period last year. Its memory business contributed a lot to the massive earnings growth. Memory chips like high-bandwidth memory (HBM) are seeing increasing demand in AI systems, and Samsung is benefiting greatly from it.

Meanwhile, there is chatter that Samsung could make chips for Apple in the US. Reports suggest Apple wants to shake up its semiconductor supply chain by adding new suppliers beyond TSMC. If Samsung inks a deal, it could be able to improve its struggling foundry business. This news may have gained attention from investors.

However, Samsung is also going through increasing tensions with its workers. The company’s labor union is reportedly preparing an 18-day strike later this month. They are demanding 15% of the profits with no bonus caps. It remains to be seen if the two parties settle the disagreement.