Samsung Electronics co-CEO Han Jong-hee announced on Wednesday that the company is exploring major deals to accelerate growth, as it faces mounting pressure from shareholders.
Shareholders have raised concerns over Samsung’s failure to capitalize on the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, which contributed to it being one of the worst-performing tech stocks last year, according to a Bloomberg report.
In 2023, Samsung’s shares plunged by nearly a third, reaching a four-year low in November, while competitor SK Hynix saw a 26% surge.
“I sincerely apologise for our recent stock performance not meeting your expectations,” Han stated during the company’s annual general meeting. “Over the past year, we failed to respond adequately to the fast-evolving AI semiconductor market.”
His statement came after investors criticized Samsung’s management for the declining stock value and demanded a clear strategy to revive share prices.
Han also warned that 2025 would be a challenging year due to economic policy uncertainties in major markets. To navigate these difficulties, Samsung plans to pursue “meaningful” mergers and acquisitions, particularly in the US, to drive growth.
In addition to its stock slump, the South Korean tech giant has been grappling with weak earnings and has lost market share to TSMC in contract chip manufacturing, as well as to Apple and Chinese competitors in the smartphone sector.
The stock decline poses a challenge for Samsung, which introduced a stock-based performance incentive for executives last year and is now considering expanding it to employees in 2025.
As South Korea’s most valuable company, Samsung has a market capitalization of $235 billion, accounting for 16% of the country’s main stock exchange. The report further noted that nearly 40% of South Korean investors hold Samsung shares.
