Samsung Electronics has officially denied recent reports that it is considering a United States share listing via American depositary receipts (ADRs). The denial follows a media report suggesting the company had held preliminary discussions with banks about a potential offering. In a statement, a Samsung spokesperson said, “Samsung Electronics is not reviewing the possibility of issuing American Depositary Receipts,” directly challenging the earlier account. The company did not elaborate on any past discussions or its reasoning.
The earlier report indicated that any talks were at a very early stage and that Samsung had not decided whether to proceed. It also noted that the review “may not result in a listing.” Samsung had previously explored a similar plan but ultimately chose not to move forward. ADRs allow foreign companies to list shares on U.S. exchanges, making them more accessible to American retail investors. Currently, Samsung Electronics trades primarily on the Korea Exchange, limiting direct access for U.S. investors.
The speculation gained momentum after SK Hynix, Samsung’s main competitor in memory chips, completed a massive U.S. share offering. SK Hynix priced its ADRs at $149 each, raising approximately $26.5 billion — the largest U.S. listing by a foreign company, according to Reuters. The shares began trading on NASDAQ on July 10 and surged more than 12% on their first day, reflecting strong investor demand for exposure to memory chips used in AI data centers.
Both Samsung and SK Hynix compete in the DRAM, NAND, and high-bandwidth memory markets, and both have benefited from surging demand for chips powering artificial intelligence servers. However, memory stocks remain volatile. SK Hynix shares later fell as some investors took profits, and market participants are closely watching production growth, chip supply, and the pace of AI infrastructure spending.
Samsung recently released preliminary second-quarter results, estimating sales of about 171 trillion won and operating profit of approximately 89.4 trillion won — a dramatic increase from 4.68 trillion won a year earlier. Despite the strong profit growth, Samsung shares declined after the update, as investors weighed high expectations against concerns about future AI spending and potential oversupply. The company plans to publish detailed quarterly results on July 30.
In June, Samsung and the SK Group announced major manufacturing expansions, each planning to build two new chip plants in South Korea. The combined investment totals 800 trillion won (about $536 billion). Additionally, South Korean companies including Naver have committed 550 trillion won to build 8.4 gigawatts of data-center capacity by 2029. For now, Samsung’s public denial leaves no active ADR plan confirmed. Any future U.S. listing would require a new official announcement or regulatory filing.
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