On November 4th of last year, at the SK AI SUMMIT 2024 held in COEX, Gangnam, Seoul, SK Hynix’s high-bandwidth memory ‘HBM3E’ was showcased. /Photo = News1
It is expected that SK Hynix will continue to maintain its leading position in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market this year. Korea Investment & Securities maintained its ‘buy’ recommendation and a target stock price of 270,000 won.
On the 3rd, Chae Min-sook, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, stated, “In the fourth quarter of last year, SK Hynix’s performance, with sales of 20 trillion won and an operating profit of 8.3 trillion won, will exceed market expectations by 3% based on operating profit. Typically, manufacturers lower prices at the year-end to increase quantity sales in pursuit of annual plans, but last year SK Hynix focused on a profitability-driven strategy by selling high-value-added products over quantity.”
Chae also noted that SK Hynix’s dominance in the HBM market is expected to continue this year. “Competitor Samsung Electronics has not yet fully entered into Nvidia, the main customer for HBM. Given that HBM accounts for over 40% of DRAM sales, SK Hynix has the highest performance stability among memory suppliers,” she added.
Furthermore, she mentioned, “While the characteristic of memory semiconductors being sensitive to economic cycles has not completely changed, SK Hynix is reducing fluctuations through expanding HBM sales, which they demonstrate with results every quarter.”
Chae maintained SK Hynix as the top pick within the semiconductor sector. She explained, “Last year, SK Hynix exceeded its HBM sales targets, and this year, they plan to nearly double supply. The introduction of new 12-layer HBM products will also increase the average selling price (ASP). This year, the sales volume and ASP are already confirmed, securing 30% of total sales in advance, unlike past cycles.”