A seismic change is being made in the semiconductor business structure of Samsung Electronics, which has historically focused on memory semiconductors. As the slump in the memory industry continues, Samsung Electronics’ quarterly sales in the foundry business, being fostered as a new growth driver,
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed.We maintain BUY and TP of KRW110,000 for SK hynix. Although SK hynix’s losses should widen as conservative inventory management at North American server companies undermine DRAM/NAND shipments and prices, we mai
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed.We maintain BUY and TP of KRW80,000 on SEC. We see an inevitable earnings slump in 1H23 as DRAM/NAND shipments and prices are hit by weak demand and inventory adjustments from North American server companies, bu
As the US government announced conditions on payment of production subsidies under the CHIPS Act, Korean semiconductor companies have been brooding over how to respond to the conditions. This is because the United States put forward strict conditions difficult for private companies to accept such as
The business performances of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix subsidiaries in China deteriorated significantly in 2022 due to U.S. sanctions against China and the impact of the COVID-19. To make matters worse, the U.S. government recently announced that it would set a technological limit to prevent
Samsung Electronics is investing aggressively in India. The Korean tech giant has decided to produce its next-generation foldable smartphones in India to make it a key smartphone production base.Samsung Electronics has produced mid- and low-priced smartphones in India. As India emerges as the center
The U.S. government is about to announce details as to the CHIPS and Science Act. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which are producing semiconductor products in China, are paying close attention as the act is to give more subsidies to semiconductor companies investing in the United States and ban f
Details on the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act are scheduled to be announced this month. The details are likely to include a 10-year ban on investment in China to be applied to semiconductor companies supported by the U.S. government. This is likely to affect both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed.Maintain BUY, TP of KRW80,000 We maintain BUY and our target price of KRW80,000 for SEC. Industry trends toward AI (incl. ChatGPT) spell a clear positive for future memory demand, while production cuts at SEC sh
Amid a deepening slump in the memory semiconductor industry, Western Digital, the fourth-largest company in the global NAND flash market, has announced a further reduction in its facility investment and production.Western Digital announced in an earnings conference call for the fourth quarter of 202
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed.Memory inventories at clients to normalize in 1H23 We maintain BUY and TP of KRW110,000 on SK hynix. Despite our forecast of massive losses this year, we still hold a positive stance on the company. The memory c
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed.Inventories to decline over time We maintain BUY and TP of KRW80,000 on SEC. Inventories (excl. memory chips) for consumer electronics (incl. TVs) and smartphones have fallen to normal levels, significantly alle
The ongoing global semiconductor war started in the second half of last year, when the United States enacted the CHIPS and Science Act in July, and further announced a ban on semiconductor equipment exports to China in October.According to the act, companies in the semiconductor industry that receiv
The operating profit of the semiconductor division of Samsung Electronics dropped 96.95 percent year on year in the fourth quarter of 2022. Despite the worst performance in 13 years, Samsung Electronics said that there would be no artificial production cut and this year’s capex would be close to las
On Dec. 13, 2022, Apple CEO Tim Cook posted on Twitter a photo showing him at an elementary school in Kumamoto, Japan, along with the message, “Sony is Apple’s partner and has made the world’s best camera sensors.”Kumamoto is the region where Taiwan’s TSMC and Japan’s Sony will build a joint venture
Samsung Electronics has maintained its No. 1 position in the global DRAM and NAND flash markets for 30 and 20 years, respectively. However, chipmakers in the United States and China have begun to threaten its technological leadership.Micron Technology, the largest memory semiconductor company in the
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed.Maintain BUY, target price of KRW80,000 We maintain BUY and TP of KRW80,000 on SEC, as we see a slowdown in price declines, alleviation of inventory burden and the full-fledged effect of global chipmakers’ cuts
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at jeff.kim@kbfg.com. -- Ed.Client inventories to revert to prudent levels in 3Q23 We maintain BUY and TP of KRW80,000 on SEC. We continue to hold an optimistic outlook, as intentional output cuts by chipmakers since 4Q22 and indirect outp
U.S. State Department Under Secretary Jose Fernandez met with Lee Do-hoon, Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, in Seoul on Jan. 10. At the following press conference, they said that the alliance between the two countries is becoming one of advanced technology beyond an economic o
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at hwdoh@nhqv.com. -- Ed. SK Hynix’s earnings decline is expected to continue in 1Q23. Full-fledged supply/demand improvement is anticipated from 2H23 through aggressive supply control efforts, including investment reduction a