As the United States is considering restricting exports of American chipmaking equipment to China, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are concerned about the move's possible impact on them. Currently, Samsung Electronics has a NAND flash plant and a back-end process plant in Xian and Suzhou, respe
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed. SEC to generate better NAND/OLED margins than rivals We maintain BUY and our 12m TP of KRW75,000 on SEC given the following:(1) Even with NAND prices expected to fall more than 20% in 2H22, SEC should generate
SK hynix Inc. announced on Aug. 2 that it has developed the industry’s highest 238-layer NAND Flash product.The company has recently shipped samples of the 238-layer 512Gb triple level cell (TLC) 4D NAND product to customers, with a plan to start mass production in the first half of 2023. “The lates
As competition is heating up between the United States and China to seize hegemony in the semiconductor industry, Korean companies’ concerns are deepening. The U.S. government has recently expanded the ban on semiconductor manufacturing equipment exports to China to equipment that can make chips mor
South Korean semiconductor companies’ business conditions are deteriorating. Memory chip prices are falling fast to affect their profitability and the United States is increasingly curbing China’s growth in the sector with their business in China already large in scale.According to market research f
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com. -- Ed. The memory semiconductor downcycle is expected to intensify in 3Q22. That said, SEC should outperform its competitors on both the arrival of peak seasonality for IT sets and the IT giant’s effective p
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed. DRAM bit growth: +10% QoQ in 2Q22→flat QoQ in 3Q22 We maintain BUY and 12m TP of KRW125,000 on SK hynix based on the following:(1) The 21% reduction to 2022 capex budget (KRW19.0tn→KRW15.6tn) and expected earni
Micron Technology of the United States, which released the world’s first 176-layer NAND product in July last year, is again ahead of the competition in mass-producing 232-layer NAND products.Micron announced on its website on July 26 (local time) that it would begin mass production of the world’s fi
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Maintain BUY and TP of KRW75,000 We maintain BUY on Samsung Electronics (SEC) and our TP of KRW75,000. We remain optimistic as passage of the CHIPS Act by the U.S. Congress would benefit SEC as localized produc
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Expect reduction in chip capacity, record OP for DP We maintain BUY and TP of KRW75,000 on SEC. We maintain a positive outlook given:(1) the stock is bottoming out after valuations fell to a historic low (1.1x
The South Korean government is in a dilemma as the United States is urging it to join its alliance in the global semiconductor sector. In the alliance, South Korea can strengthen its supply chain in the industry. However, joining it also means Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix may become more vulnera
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at snowKH@shinhan.com and wonyong.sim@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. Bright growth outlook for 2H22TSE is expected to have generated operating profit of KRW23.9bn (+17% YoY) for 2Q22, continuing on a growth track after hitti
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Maintain BUY, target price of KRW75,000 We maintain BUY and 12m TP of KRW75,000 on SEC. We continue to have a positive outlook, as: (1) the stock has dropped to a historical low of 1.1x P/B, which seems excessi
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Demand for IT devices is slowing due to unfavorable macro factors. In particular, smartphones demand is sluggish. Supply limitations stemming from the rising difficulties in semiconductor process tran
SK Materials, an SK Group affiliate, has partnered with a Japanese semiconductor material company to advance into the North American market. SK Materials announced on June 29 that it signed an MOU with Japan’s Showa Denko to study the feasibility of joint advancement into North America. SK Materials
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Maintain BUY; Revise down TP to KRW125,000 We maintain BUY on SK hynix, but lower our 12m TP by 11% to KRW125,000 (12m fwd BVPS X 1.25x target P/B) on a decline in 3y avg. ROE (12.9%→11.9%), attributable to dow
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Target price cut 13% to KRW75,000 We cut our TP by 13% to KRW75,000 (12m fwd BVPS x 1.47x target P/B) on (1) a decline in 3y avg. ROE (12.3%→11.6%) on lowered earnings estimates and (2) change in COE (8.47%→8.8
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at doyeon@shinhan.com and hyon@shinhan.com, respectively. – Ed. 2Q22 OP forecast at KRW14.4tr (+1.9% QoQ)We now expect Samsung Electronics to post operating profit of KRW14.4tr (+1.9% QoQ) on sales of KRW76.4tr (-1.8% QoQ) for
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at doyeon@shinhan.com and hyon@shinhan.com, respectively. – Ed. 2Q22 OP forecast at KRW14.9tr (+5.5% QoQ)Samsung Electronics is expected to post operating profit of KRW14.9tr (+5.5% QoQ) on sales of KRW78.4tr (+0.8% QoQ) for 2Q
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at doyeon@shinhan.com and hyon@shinhan.com, respectively. – Ed. Revised-down ASP forecasts point toward slower growth in 2H22Macro uncertainties are persisting for a longer period than initially expected. With shipments of PCs