Samsung Electronics' (005930.KS) operating profit next year is projected to exceed the combined profits of Japan's top 100 companies by market capitalization, according to a securities industry forecast.
Global investment bank Goldman Sachs recently forecast Samsung Electronics' 2028 operating profit at approximately $344.5 billion (about 495 trillion won), according to the financial investment industry Wednesday.
Goldman Sachs' projection is more than 10 times Samsung Electronics' expected earnings this year, and approximately 11 times the operating profit of Toyota Motor, Japan's largest company by market capitalization, whose fiscal 2025 (April 2024 to March 2025) operating profit stood at around 4.7 trillion yen (about 43 trillion won).
In the comparison figures cited, the combined operating profit of Japan's top 100 companies totals just 42 trillion yen (about 391 trillion won, based on March 2025 results), while Samsung Electronics' projected operating profit exceeds 10 trillion yen (about 92 trillion won).
The news has stunned investors in Japanese online communities. Sharing Goldman Sachs' data, Japanese netizens expressed envy with reactions such as "Why doesn't Japan have a company like Samsung Electronics?", "An era has come when a single Korean company exceeds the combined operating profits of all Japanese companies," and "Korea already surpassed Japan in per capita GDP in 2023, and it now seems difficult for Japan to overtake Korea again."
Some responses also carried a tone of lament, with comments such as "Isn't the number in the article a typo?" and "Please just tell me it's a lie."
