Mom-and-pop shareholders in Samsung Electronics near 6 mn in June

[Photo by MK DB]

The number of minor shareholders with Samsung Electronics Co. neared 6 million in the end of June as mom-and-pop investors expanded holdings of the Korean bellwether stock with hopes that the price will go up in the future.

According to a half-year business report disclosed by Samsung Electronics on Tuesday, the number of minor individuals with Samsung Electronics common shares reached 5.9 million as of end-June, up 856,342 from the end of December last year. The figure is estimated to top 6 million when holders of preferred shares are counted.

A minority shareholder is an individual that own less than one-hundredth of total issued shares. Samsung Electronics’ minority shareholders own total 3.96 billion shares, or 66.33 percent of entire 5.97 billion outstanding shares.

Mom-and-pop investors have expanded their ownership in Samsung Electronics in recent months as they hope to leverage from the underperforming stock by purchasing shares at a low price amid concerns about global economic slowdown and sluggish chip industry outlook.

The bellwether stock was individual investors’ favorite pick in Kospi in the January-June period with net purchase reaching 15.16 trillion won ($11.6 billion). The net purchase amount was more than 7 times bigger than that of No. 2 favorite Naver Corp.

Samsung Electronics had record 117,904 employees as of end-June, up 4,419 from the end of December last year. The number of workers at the company’s device solutions (DS) unit grew by 4,219 to 68,121 during the same period, as the company upped investment in chip sector.

The Device eXperience (DX) unit responsible for Samsung’s TV and smartphone business accounted for 59.7 percent of total revenue in the first six months of the year and the DS unit 35.7 percent, the report showed.

Apple, Deutsche Telekom, Qualcomm, Supreme Electronics, and Verizon were Samsung Electronics’ top five revenue source in the January-June period. They accounted for 15 percent of the tech giant’s total revenue. Verizon replaced Best Buy in the top 5 list.

Samsung Electronics, meanwhile, spent 12.18 trillion won in research and development in the first half of the year, taking up 7.9 percent of entire revenue, down from 8.1 percent in 2021.

Shares of Samsung Electronics were trading 0.33 percent lower at 60,800 won on Wednesday morning.

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