SK Hynix Hits '800,000-nix'... Both SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics Reach All-Time Highs

Market Optimism Grows Ahead of Earnings Announcement
SK Hynix Boosted by Microsoft HBM Supply News
Focus on HBM4 Roadmap and Official Supply Prospects

On January 27, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the two leading semiconductor companies in Korea and the top two in market capitalization, both hit new all-time highs. On this day, SK Hynix's stock price surpassed 800,000 won for the first time ever, while Samsung Electronics closed at 159,500 won.

According to the Korea Exchange on January 27, SK Hynix ended trading at 800,000 won on the KOSPI market, up 8.70% (64,000 won) from the previous trading day. This is the first time in the company's history that it has reached 800,000 won, both during intraday trading and at the closing price.

Samsung Electronics also set a new all-time high, closing at 159,500 won, up 4.87% from the previous session. Analysts attribute the surge in buying to the market's increasingly optimistic outlook ahead of the two companies' scheduled announcement of last year's business performance on January 29.

The rise in SK Hynix's share price is also believed to have been influenced by news of a high-bandwidth memory (HBM) supply contract with Microsoft (MS). SK Hynix is reportedly the exclusive supplier of its latest HBM3E (5th generation) product for Microsoft's recently unveiled Maia 200 AI accelerator. This marks a significant shift, as SK Hynix secures a new growth axis outside the traditionally Nvidia-centered HBM supply chain.

Both the market and the industry are focusing on the HBM4 roadmap that the two companies will unveil during their earnings conference calls. The biggest points of interest are whether they have passed Nvidia's sample testing and the timing of mass production. Samsung Electronics' HBM4 has reportedly passed the final quality tests of both Nvidia and AMD and is expected to move beyond the sample stage to official supply starting in February. SK Hynix, after supplying HBM4 samples to Nvidia in September last year, is said to be in the final stages of preparation.

On January 26 (local time), global investment bank Citigroup significantly raised its target price for SK Hynix to 1.4 million won in a report. Citigroup forecasts that this year, the average selling prices (ASP) of DRAM and NAND flash will soar by 120% and 90%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

The surge in SK Hynix's share price drove a broader rally in the domestic stock market. On this day, the KOSPI index closed at 5,084.85, up 135.26 points (2.73%) from the previous session, marking the first time in history that the closing price surpassed the 5,000 mark. Securities industry analysts estimate that a significant portion of the KOSPI's gains on this day was due to the contribution of semiconductor stocks.