Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KRX: 005930.KS)

Samsung Electronics is the world's largest technology company by revenue, making everything from smartphones (Galaxy series) to memory chips (DRAM, NAND), displays (OLED panels), TVs, and home appliances. The company supplies critical components to competitors u2014 Apple's iPhones have used Samsung displays and memory chips. Samsung controls roughly 20% of the global smartphone market and dominates the memory semiconductor industry.

Three main divisions: Device Solutions (semiconductors u2014 memory chips, foundry), Mobile eXperience (smartphones, tablets, wearables), and Display (OLED and LCD panels). The semiconductor division is the biggest profit driver in good years but is highly cyclical. Samsung also makes TVs, home appliances, and network equipment. Annual revenue exceeds $200 billion.

Lee Byung-chul founded Samsung as a trading company in 1938. Samsung Electronics was established in 1969. The company entered the memory chip business in 1983 and became the world's largest memory manufacturer by 1992. The Galaxy S series launched in 2010 to compete with the iPhone. The Galaxy Note 7 battery explosion crisis in 2016 forced a global recall. Chairman Lee Kun-hee died in 2020; his son Lee Jae-yong now leads the group.