Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shares surged in Seoul on Wednesday after South Korea reported a 222.5% jump in semiconductor exports, providing fresh evidence of strong demand after a bruising sell-off in memory stocks.
SK Hynix jumped 7.11% to 1.31 million won, while Samsung climbed 5.56% to 223,250 won in morning trading. The KOSPI gained 3.28% by around 9:50 am, recovering part of Tuesday’s 3.73% fall.
The figures exposed a growing gap between investors’ concerns about future AI spending and the exceptional revenues chipmakers are generating today.
Samsung, SK Hynix stocks: Foreign buyers return
Foreign investors bought a net 197.3 billion won of Korean shares on Wednesday morning, reversing the selling that had weighed on the market. Institutions added 45.3 billion won, while retail investors sold 406.4 billion won.
The rebound followed improving sentiment towards US technology companies.
Super Micro Computer lifted its quarterly revenue forecast to $18.5 billion–$19.5 billion from $14.5 billion–$15.5 billion, reinforcing the view that demand for AI servers remains healthy.
Those signals helped investors reconsider last week’s heavy selling, fuelled by concerns about rising borrowing costs and returns on data-centre investment.
Seo Sang-young of Mirae Asset Securities attributed the recovery to bargain hunting, stronger US semiconductor sentiment and more favourable overseas financial conditions.
He also cited expectations of lower oil prices, steadier long-term bond yields and a softer dollar.
Export figures challenge the bearish narrative
South Korea exported a record $27.5 billion of semiconductors during the first 20 days of October, up 222.5% from a year earlier, customs data showed.
Chips represented 44.7% of the country’s $61.6 billion in total exports. Overall shipments by value rose 105.4%, while average daily exports, adjusted for working days, increased 65.9%.
The chip figure measures export value, not the number of units shipped. Higher memory prices can therefore lift revenues even without an equivalent rise in volumes.
The boom has also produced a striking split between financial markets.
“It is as if the stock market and the foreign exchange market are thinking differently,” Park Sang-hyun of iM Securities said, in comments translated by Chosunbiz.
He attributed the currency’s resilience to semiconductor exports and the trade surplus, while equity investors were pricing in the possibility of slower AI investment.
Strong export receipts demonstrate current demand, but cannot guarantee that today’s pricing strength will survive future changes in supply.
Cheap valuations put pessimism to the test
SK Securities analyst Han Dong-hee estimates Samsung trades at about 3.5 times forecast earnings over the next 12 months, compared with just 2.8 times for SK Hynix.
Those multiples have fallen below trough valuations seen in previous memory downturns, Han said in research on Wednesday.
He called expectations of a sharp earnings decline after 2028 “excessive pessimism”, citing AI demand, constrained supply and longer-term contracts.
SK Securities has raised its 2027 profit forecasts for both chipmakers as memory prices exceed expectations.
Still, forecasts could weaken quickly if data-centre projects stall, Chinese competitors expand or memory prices reverse.
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