AI Bubble? It hasn't even come halfway to the dot-com bubble surge. "Why Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will ultimately be the winners" l CEO Kim Min-soo

Summary

CEO Kim Min-soo argues the AI-driven semiconductor cycle is still early, with memory supply extremely tight and pricing sticky. He advises buying Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix on any Micron-earnings-related dip, sees SK Hynix's ADR plan and SK Square's discount narrowing as powerful catalysts, and views Samsung's relative undervaluation as a catch-up opportunity. He also flags foundry-linked plays like Doosan Tesna and Hanmi Semiconductor as worth watching if Samsung wins significant orders.

• The current AI cycle is compared to the dot-com era, where NASDAQ rose 560% from 1995–2000, while the current move is only about 130% — implying the cycle is still in its early innings.
• Memory supply remains very tight: HBM demand cannibalizes standard DRAM capacity, LTA adoption is expanding, and even obsolete DDR2 is being repurposed to meet demand.
• Micron earnings could cause a sell-the-news reaction in memory names; a pullback in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix is viewed as a buying opportunity.
• SK Hynix's ADR listing is initially too small to spark revaluation; to achieve a rerating, the company may expand the float via buybacks, which would also narrow the NAV discount at holding company SK Square.
• Samsung Electronics trades at a valuation discount to SK Hynix and has potential to catch up, though labor union issues remain a variable.
• Samsung's foundry division is currently struggling, but confirmation of new orders would rapidly improve momentum and lift related test/packaging names like Doosan Tesna and Hanmi Semiconductor.
• The speaker systematically separates short-term tactical entries from the structural bullish case for Korean memory leaders.