- Purchase → valuation
- →
- Initial amount
- 100,000,000 KRW
- Original purchase close
- 1,618,000 KRW
- KRW 100 million after ten years
- 854,392,600 KRW
- Cumulative return
- 754.39%
- CAGR
- 23.93%
Common shares 005930, excluding cash dividends and reinvestment. Valuation date: September 22, 2026.
What would different investment amounts be worth?
No additional contributions or withdrawals. Integer shares use split-adjusted prices and remaining KRW stays in cash. This differs from an original-price order in 2016. Values round to whole KRW; tables scroll horizontally on mobile.
| Investment | Final value | Cumulative return | CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000,000 KRW | 8,324,200 KRW | 732.42% | 23.61% |
| 10,000,000 KRW | 85,439,260 KRW | 754.39% | 23.93% |
| 50,000,000 KRW | 427,196,300 KRW | 754.39% | 23.93% |
| 100,000,000 KRW | 854,392,600 KRW | 754.39% | 23.93% |
Ten years of investment values: advances and reversals
Last monthly observations trace the KRW value of the initial investment. Look for periods of growth and large reversals alongside the ending value above.
Read annual investment values as a table
| Date | KRW value |
|---|---|
| 2016-09-22 | 100,000,000 KRW |
| 2016-12-29 | 111,371,200 KRW |
| 2017-12-28 | 157,474,000 KRW |
| 2018-12-28 | 119,590,600 KRW |
| 2019-12-30 | 172,429,600 KRW |
| 2020-12-30 | 250,297,600 KRW |
| 2021-12-30 | 241,954,600 KRW |
| 2022-12-29 | 170,884,600 KRW |
| 2023-12-28 | 242,572,600 KRW |
| 2024-12-30 | 164,395,600 KRW |
| 2025-12-30 | 370,498,600 KRW |
| 2026-09-22 | 854,392,600 KRW |
The value rose in 2017, then fell in 2018. A lower share price after the split is separate from an investment loss. The chart puts prices before and after the split on the same basis.
A 2023 rebound gave way to a 2024 decline before gains in 2025–2026 lifted the final value. The 2026 value stops on September 22.
Why holding on for ten years was difficult
Buying a large, familiar company can feel reassuring. Holding it for ten years means repeatedly considering when earnings might recover and how long you can wait. Before knowing the ending value, how would you have judged the time spent waiting for Samsung?
Other investments become tempting while you wait
The chart shows a recovery in 2019–2020, followed by a lower holding value at the end of 2022 than at the end of 2020. To a holder, time invested could feel like time spent giving back earlier gains. The next recovery date was still unknown.
Imagine waiting while another stock or a market ETF rises. You might wonder whether moving your money would make better use of it. Comparing your holding with other investments adds the burden of missed opportunities to the decline itself. There is also a practical question: how long can this money remain invested before you need it?
Size alone could not explain the earnings weakness
In the Q4 2023 results released on January 31, 2024, the semiconductor DS division recorded a KRW 2.18 trillion operating loss. Even with substantial operations and continued technological investment, a business division could experience severe earnings weakness.
A holder then had to judge how much reflected the memory cycle and what needed to improve in the products or competitive position. Samsung’s memory, mobile and display businesses each deserved attention. Revisiting prices, demand and product profitability would make the expectation of recovery more specific.
Waiting for business recovery or for an old share price?
A previous high gives us a memorable price. Deciding whether to keep owning the business also requires examining memory prices and inventories, product competitiveness and earnings. Naming the changes you expect to see lets you revisit the reason for holding as new results arrive.
What evidence of business recovery were you waiting for, and how long could your money wait? Change the purchase date in a backtest and examine the periods of weakness and recovery. Connect that path with the business you study when considering how to invest in Samsung.
Why might investors have chosen Samsung Electronics in 2016?
The following investment case uses material published before September 22, 2016.
- Memory process and product competitiveness. The Q2 2016 release discussed high-value memory and V-NAND expansion. Product mix and cost advantages offered a thesis, while DRAM/NAND pricing and additional supply remained cyclical risks.
- A profitable global smartphone business. The same release reported Galaxy S7 sales and improved mobile profitability. It also anticipated slowing markets and stronger competition. Investors had reason to keep examining the competitiveness and profitability of the next products.
- Large earnings across several businesses. Quarterly revenue of KRW 50.94 trillion and operating profit of KRW 8.14 trillion suggested resources for further investment. Exposure to components and finished products could appeal to investors, but operating profit was not free cash flow and capital spending consumed cash.
- More cash reaching shareholders. The October 2015 plan proposed KRW 11.3 trillion of buybacks and cancellations and a three-year policy returning 30–50% of annual free cash flow. A plan was distinct from execution; company-wide returns were not the same as the dividend on each share.
The Note7 risk was already public at entry. Samsung’s September 2, 2016 statement reported a battery issue, halted sales and a replacement program. Focusing only on S7 success would miss a material counterargument. A blue-chip reputation did not protect principal against product failures or downturns.
Did those investment arguments hold up?
Technological investment continued as memory earnings changed. Following the semiconductor weakness discussed above, the Q4 2025 release described stronger memory earnings from high-value products including HBM and higher prices. Technological investment continued, while competitiveness and earnings changed with product generations and the memory cycle.
Mobile remained an earnings source with uneven growth. The 2025 release described annual flagship growth alongside lower Q4 smartphone sales as launch effects faded. Continued business development does not establish mobile as the cause of the entire share-price gain.
Shareholder returns became actual payments and repurchases. The IR return history reports 50% of free cash flow returned in 2016–2017 and quarterly dividends starting in 2017. This article excludes dividends received and reinvested. Buyback and cancellation amounts must not be added again to a market price that already reflects their effects.
Changes in the business and shareholder returns provide a way to revisit those earlier expectations. The return on a single company combines business changes with changing market valuations.
Same-period comparison with SK hynix and the S&P 500
All rows use KRW 100 million and identical dates, excluding dividends, taxes and trading costs. SPY represents the S&P 500 through an ETF; its KRW value includes USD/KRW movements. The Korean shares require no FX conversion.
| Asset | Final value | Cumulative return | CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Electronics | 854,392,600 KRW | 754.39% | 23.93% |
| SK hynix | 4,669,922,800 KRW | 4,569.92% | 46.88% |
| S&P 500 ETF (SPY) | 437,823,735 KRW | 337.82% | 15.91% |
SK hynix is more concentrated in memory, while Samsung combines components and finished products; SPY spreads exposure across companies. Endpoint returns cannot establish risk-adjusted superiority. The SPY article below includes reinvested dividends and therefore differs from this price-only table.
S&P 500 with dividend reinvestment
Comparison basis
The KRW results cover September 22, 2016 to September 22, 2026 without further contributions: dividends excluded. Personal taxes, trading and FX costs, and inflation are excluded. Korean shares use whole quantities at split-adjusted prices, with leftover KRW cash included.
Calculation details and source records
Coverage is not fully exchange-calendar audited. The largest interval between stored dates is 9/29/17 to 10/10/17; it can include holidays. The source also carries unchanged prices during the 2018 split suspension. No interpolation or full-history maximum drawdown is presented.
Common shares, split adjustment and calculation basis
The asset is Samsung Electronics common stock 005930, not preferred stock 005935. The original September 22, 2016 close was KRW 1,618,000. After the 2018 50:1 split, the comparable starting basis is KRW 32360, versus KRW 276500 on September 22, 2026. The adjusted basis was not an executable one-share price in 2016.
The original share price exceeded KRW 1 million. The smallest tier therefore does not recreate a whole-share order at entry. These tiers compare investment sizes using the hub’s adjusted-price convention. Reconstructing an actual account requires original share counts, cash and later split quantities.
Cash dividends, reinvestment, contributions, withdrawals, personal taxes, transaction taxes, fees and inflation are excluded. Samsung stays in KRW in both languages. Only SPY uses FX, from 1103.3 to 1356.5 KRW/USD; these are neither executable FX quotes nor simultaneous valuations.
Prices reuse project observations and the hub endpoints. Checked September 29, 2026; valuation remains fixed at September 22. Independent reconciliation to original KRX closes, complete exchange-calendar coverage and central-bank FX reconciliation remain incomplete. This is not a certified total-return series or a live quote. Business, capital-return and split evidence comes from the official releases and IR material linked above.
Formulas and rounding
Adjusted shares = floor(principal ÷ adjusted starting close). Cash = principal − shares × starting close. Value = shares × adjusted closing price + cash. Return = (value ÷ principal − 1) × 100. CAGR = ((value ÷ principal)^(365.2425 / elapsed days) − 1) × 100. The split is not applied a second time.
The existing engine uses 24 significant digits, money to two decimals and return percentages to six. Display uses HALF_UP rounding to whole KRW and two percentage decimals. No annual rounding or interest payment is modeled.
Frequently asked questions
Are these common or preferred shares?
These are Samsung Electronics common shares, 005930. Preferred shares, 005935, have different prices and dividend terms; these results cannot be applied to them.
Did the 2018 split multiply my wealth by 50?
No. A 50:1 split multiplies the share count by 50 and divides the per-share basis by 50. The calculation already adjusts earlier prices; multiplying the ending value again would double count the split.
Why can my actual account differ?
The hub model buys integer shares on the split-adjusted basis and retains cash. That is not an integer-share order placed at the original 2016 price. Dividends, taxes and fees are also excluded. Small investments can be especially sensitive to these assumptions.
How can I compare a Samsung investment in a backtest?
Compare Samsung with KODEX 200 on matching dates. Vary the starting date and examine returns, declines and recovery while considering the company’s business alongside broader market ownership.
Compare other assets: KRW 100 million invested ten years ago
Find your reason for owning Samsung
I believe money with a long horizon should be invested to give it an opportunity to grow. Samsung shares offer a stake in businesses we do not operate ourselves. Study its memory and mobile operations and revisit competitiveness and earnings while holding. Use backtests to examine the waiting and recovery periods when choosing how to invest your money.
What if you bought Samsung on another date?
Change the dates and investment amount to compare Samsung with KODEX 200. Examine different memory cycles, returns, drawdowns and recovery times when considering a stock against a market ETF.
Open Samsung backtestThis article presents the author’s investment opinion and historical observations. Returns and losses depend on the asset and investment period.