Kospi Falls 2.6% as Record Alphabet and Samsung Results Diverge in Asia
Key Facts
Asian stocks fell on Thursday, October 29, 2026, giving up early gains as investors reacted unevenly to results from artificial intelligence companies. South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.6%, reversing sharply after rising nearly 7% in the previous session. The broader MSCI Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan dropped 0.7%, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.3% after paring gains. The moves followed mixed results from Alphabet and Samsung: Alphabet missed revenue and earnings-per-share expectations, while Samsung posted record quarterly revenue and operating profit. Losses extended to mainland China, where blue-chip stocks fell 0.9%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.2%.
Alphabet reported revenue of $127.58 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 25% year over year, but below the analyst consensus of $127.97 billion. The company posted net income of $26.17 billion for the July-to-September period, compared with $34.98 billion in the same period a year earlier. It also reported earnings of $2.12 per share, against analyst estimates of nearly $3.01. The contrast between annual revenue growth and the miss on market estimates shows that the strength of its business did not dispel concerns about its results and profitability. Alphabet shares fell 10% in after-hours trading, wiping about $400 billion from its market value.
The pressure spilled over into U.S. futures, with Nasdaq futures down 1% after Alphabet’s announcement. The company’s shares closed at $324.89 on October 28, according to EL7 data, before falling in post-results trading. The reaction was also linked to the level of spending the company expects to support its artificial intelligence business. Alphabet’s chief financial officer said the company expects capital expenditures to “increase significantly” in 2027. She added that more details would be presented on the fourth-quarter earnings call. That expected spending puts infrastructure investment at the center of investor scrutiny of the company’s coming results.
Samsung, by contrast, reported record consolidated revenue of 195.3 trillion won and operating profit of 107.4 trillion won in the third quarter of 2026. Revenue rose 14% from the previous quarter, setting a new company record. The Device Solutions division posted revenue of 147.1 trillion won and operating profit of 106.5 trillion won. Samsung said its memory business delivered another record quarter, driven by strong server demand. But the record results did not prevent the company’s shares from falling more than 4% on Thursday, dragging the Kospi lower. This followed a nearly 7% rise in the Korean index in the previous session, highlighting how quickly market moves can shift around chip-sector results.
Samsung’s net profit fell short of market expectations despite record revenue and operating profit, adding to the divergent readings of the results by the company and the market. The previous day, the Kospi jumped 6.6% to its highest level in two weeks after SK Hynix shares rose nearly 11% following a reported surge in operating profit. The reversal in South Korea came as Asia-Pacific stocks excluding Japan fell more broadly, while Japan held on to modest gains. The index moves show that the regional impact of technology-company announcements was uneven, even with strong demand for memory chips. Samsung shares fell in the session, while the company’s outlook for demand for artificial intelligence products continued to support expectations for activity in the sector.
Samsung expects demand for artificial intelligence-related chips to accelerate in 2027, outpacing supply as customers seek to expand AI infrastructure. The company said it is focusing on high-bandwidth memory, server memory and storage products, and expects capital expenditures on AI infrastructure to reach a historic level in 2027. These forecasts put memory demand and infrastructure spending among the main factors markets are watching after the results. On shareholder returns, Samsung said its board would set the next policy, final amount and plans for executing the remaining 2026 funds at a meeting scheduled for late January 2027. Results from Amazon and Intel, expected later on Thursday, were also the next milestone for investors assessing the outlook for investment in artificial intelligence.