[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics' price-to-earnings ratio has outpaced that of its archrival Apple for the first time.

Samsung is currently trading at a P/E ratio of 13.41 on the local bourse, while the figure for Apple remains at about 12.23. 




Until the end of 2013, Apple’s P/E ratio (12.14) almost doubled that of Samsung (6.93). But the gap started reducing in 2015.

While Apple’s P/E ratio remained almost the same last year at about 12.43, that of Samsung soared to 9.98.

This year, Samsung stocks started an upswing, largely buoyed by its upbeat sales. On Aug. 1, the price once soared to the highest of 1.58 million won (US$141).

Samsung has also been narrowing the gap with Apple on operating profit margin. In the April-June period, Samsung’s OPM was 16.2 percent, compared to Apple’s 23.82 percent.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)