Son Chang-hyun

Memory shortage is continuing, supported by long-term supply agreements and AI-driven HBM/legacy demand; on-device AI, robotics, and autonomous driving are still in early stages but will add demand. He expects memory prices to stay firm short term and Samsung Electronics/SK hynix earnings to remain positive in the second half.

TSMC's capacity shortage is pushing orders to Samsung foundry, and Samsung cannot handle all orders, so OSAT subcontractors get spillover. Foundry utilization is likely to exceed 100%. The key is 2nm yield: TSMC is around 70-80% while Samsung is around 55%; improving Samsung's yield by even 10% would sharply raise output and lower financial risk, making Samsung more attractive than SK hynix on foundry operating leverage.

Samsung and SK hynix are accelerating Yongin and Pyeongtaek capex by about two years; front-end expansion requires equipment first. Deposition equipment is receiving the most attention, with TES, Eugene Technology, and Wonik IPS as representative beneficiaries. He sees the investment momentum as structural and worth following medium-to-long term.

Samsung and SK hynix are accelerating Yongin and Pyeongtaek capex by about two years; front-end expansion requires equipment first. Deposition equipment is receiving the most attention, with TES, Eugene Technology, and Wonik IPS as representative beneficiaries. He sees the investment momentum as structural and worth following medium-to-long term.

Samsung and SK hynix are accelerating Yongin and Pyeongtaek capex by about two years; front-end expansion requires equipment first. Deposition equipment is receiving the most attention, with TES, Eugene Technology, and Wonik IPS as representative beneficiaries. He sees the investment momentum as structural and worth following medium-to-long term.

SOCAMM2 is spreading as a low-power, low-heat, efficient alternative in servers, notebooks, and AI PCs. Amazon's 2 million GPU supply implies about 16 million SOCAMM2 units; Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron are moving to mass production in H2. Simmtech, Korea Circuit, Daeduck Electronics, and TLB are rising on substrate demand, and Simmtech is investing KRW 270 billion to expand capacity.

SOCAMM2 is spreading as a low-power, low-heat, efficient alternative in servers, notebooks, and AI PCs. Amazon's 2 million GPU supply implies about 16 million SOCAMM2 units; Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron are moving to mass production in H2. Simmtech, Korea Circuit, Daeduck Electronics, and TLB are rising on substrate demand, and Simmtech is investing KRW 270 billion to expand capacity.

SOCAMM2 is spreading as a low-power, low-heat, efficient alternative in servers, notebooks, and AI PCs. Amazon's 2 million GPU supply implies about 16 million SOCAMM2 units; Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron are moving to mass production in H2. Simmtech, Korea Circuit, Daeduck Electronics, and TLB are rising on substrate demand, and Simmtech is investing KRW 270 billion to expand capacity.

He prefers back-end/OSAT over front-end because HBM is essentially a stacking/back-end process, advanced packaging is combining diverse chips, and the HBM3-to-HBM4 transition requires debond/reflow and test equipment. SFA Semiconductor is outsourcing Samsung DDR5, Hana Micron has packaging/module turnkey capability, Nepes is also named, PSK Holdings supplies HBM4 debonding/reflow equipment, and UniTest/Tron/Intekplus are test/inspection beneficiaries; UniTest has already turned around on HBM4 burn-in test supply to SK hynix.

He prefers back-end/OSAT over front-end because HBM is essentially a stacking/back-end process, advanced packaging is combining diverse chips, and the HBM3-to-HBM4 transition requires debond/reflow and test equipment. SFA Semiconductor is outsourcing Samsung DDR5, Hana Micron has packaging/module turnkey capability, Nepes is also named, PSK Holdings supplies HBM4 debonding/reflow equipment, and UniTest/Tron/Intekplus are test/inspection beneficiaries; UniTest has already turned around on HBM4 burn-in test supply to SK hynix.

He prefers back-end/OSAT over front-end because HBM is essentially a stacking/back-end process, advanced packaging is combining diverse chips, and the HBM3-to-HBM4 transition requires debond/reflow and test equipment. SFA Semiconductor is outsourcing Samsung DDR5, Hana Micron has packaging/module turnkey capability, Nepes is also named, PSK Holdings supplies HBM4 debonding/reflow equipment, and UniTest/Tron/Intekplus are test/inspection beneficiaries; UniTest has already turned around on HBM4 burn-in test supply to SK hynix.

He prefers back-end/OSAT over front-end because HBM is essentially a stacking/back-end process, advanced packaging is combining diverse chips, and the HBM3-to-HBM4 transition requires debond/reflow and test equipment. SFA Semiconductor is outsourcing Samsung DDR5, Hana Micron has packaging/module turnkey capability, Nepes is also named, PSK Holdings supplies HBM4 debonding/reflow equipment, and UniTest/Tron/Intekplus are test/inspection beneficiaries; UniTest has already turned around on HBM4 burn-in test supply to SK hynix.

He prefers back-end/OSAT over front-end because HBM is essentially a stacking/back-end process, advanced packaging is combining diverse chips, and the HBM3-to-HBM4 transition requires debond/reflow and test equipment. SFA Semiconductor is outsourcing Samsung DDR5, Hana Micron has packaging/module turnkey capability, Nepes is also named, PSK Holdings supplies HBM4 debonding/reflow equipment, and UniTest/Tron/Intekplus are test/inspection beneficiaries; UniTest has already turned around on HBM4 burn-in test supply to SK hynix.

He prefers back-end/OSAT over front-end because HBM is essentially a stacking/back-end process, advanced packaging is combining diverse chips, and the HBM3-to-HBM4 transition requires debond/reflow and test equipment. SFA Semiconductor is outsourcing Samsung DDR5, Hana Micron has packaging/module turnkey capability, Nepes is also named, PSK Holdings supplies HBM4 debonding/reflow equipment, and UniTest/Tron/Intekplus are test/inspection beneficiaries; UniTest has already turned around on HBM4 burn-in test supply to SK hynix.

Continued semiconductor boom should drive materials/consumables demand. He names Dongjin Semichem, Soulbrain, and Woldex, noting materials names are often undervalued because of conservative IR. He also likes silicon carbide ring component names TCK, KNGJ, and Woldex because deposition/etch demand makes those consumables necessary.