Samsung Electronics and SK hynix Operating Profit of KRW 200 Trillion! The Greatest Earnings Bull Market in History Has Begun / Which Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Stocks Are Expected to Surge in January? | Director Lee Young-hoon

삼성전자·SK하이닉스 영업이익 200조! 역사상 최고 실적 강세장 시작됐다 / 1월 급등 기대되는 반도체소부장주는? | 이영훈 이사

Watch on YouTube ↗ | January 02, 2026 at 23:45 | 19:02 | 815 Money Talk (815머니톡)

Speakers

Lee Young-hoon — Director

Summary

In a January 2 interview, iM Securities Director Lee Young-hoon reviewed the strong first trading day of 2026, led by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. He argued that AI inference demand is creating a structural legacy memory shortage and favored large-cap memory IDMs, while also highlighting selective semiconductor equipment and materials, humanoid robotics, biotech, Hyundai Motor's robot re-rating potential, and defense and aerospace. He recommended balanced KOSPI and KOSDAQ exposure and patience in biotech, expecting a stronger phase after January.

Semiconductors surged on earnings optimism and legacy memory shortage expectations.
Lee favored Samsung Electronics and SK hynix over equipment and materials on valuation.
He recommended balanced KOSPI and KOSDAQ exposure for 2026.
Korean humanoid robotics is shifting from theme status toward commercialization.
Biotech may remain soft in January but strengthen from February onward.
Hyundai Motor could re-rate if CES reframes it as a humanoid robotics company.
He prefers larger defense and aerospace names over small pure-space stocks.
Risk management and position sizing were discussed for volatile biotech holdings.

Ideas

Lee Young-hoon Director 0:00

Keep balanced KOSPI and KOSDAQ exposure.

For 2026, rather than trying to forecast whether KOSPI reaches 4,000 or 5,000, the better approach is to keep balanced exposure across KOSPI and KOSDAQ. The key driver is not the index level itself but how the market revalues major earnings drivers such as legacy memory and other sectors; balanced exposure allows participation in earnings momentum while retaining exposure to later KOSDAQ opportunities.

Lee Young-hoon Director 2:40

Buy Korean biotech weakness for February.

Biotech typically underperforms during earnings season and around JP Morgan Healthcare, but the sector has already corrected and many biotech companies are becoming profitable. He remains constructive medium-term, holds a core biotech position, bought significantly since October/November, and expects relative strength after January, likely from February onward; biotech may not lag semiconductors and could even outperform over the medium term.

Lee Young-hoon Director 2:48

Celltrion watched for facility order uplift.

Celltrion's main issue has been stagnant earnings, but if orders from the acquired 1L facility add to revenue, incremental earnings expectations could drive the stock. Its recent surge was helped by individual momentum and this potential earnings addition, making it a developing company-specific watch.

Lee Young-hoon Director 4:22

Favor back-end chip equipment, US-exposed materials.

Within Korean semiconductor equipment and materials, the guest still prefers back-end processes over front-end processes for legacy process investment. Materials companies that already have U.S. investment exposure are showing signs of revival as capacity conversion and U.S.-related investment proceed; although he had been cautious on the equipment/materials space, it remains worth watching.

Lee Young-hoon Director 4:43

AI inference shortage boosts cheap memory IDMs.

AI is shifting from training toward inference, causing legacy memory demand to surge and creating a structural shortage because major memory makers are unlikely to repeat large legacy capacity expansions and are focusing on process conversion. This supports earnings and potential valuation re-rating for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which are still cheap on forward operating profit below 10x PER; their historical cyclicality discount could unwind if legacy memory earnings stabilize.

Lee Young-hoon Director 7:32

Hyundai may re-rate as humanoid robotics.

Hyundai Motor trades around 0.5x PBR and is increasingly being discussed as a humanoid robotics company. If CES becomes the catalyst for the market to value Hyundai as a humanoid-robot company rather than just an automaker, its valuation and equity story could change significantly.

Lee Young-hoon Director 9:10

Korean humanoid robotics is becoming investable.

Korean humanoid robotics is shifting from a pure theme to a commercialization narrative, with concrete developments such as Samsung's Nvidia collaboration, a humanoid line at a Sejong plant, Hyundai's Atlas deployment, progress toward pre-mass-production verification, and German orders. Even if CES-related news leads to a pullback, the theme is likely to continue this year rather than end.

Lee Young-hoon Director 13:37

Defense names may re-rate into aerospace.

Korean space and aerospace has many small companies with small revenue, so he avoids the smallest names. Instead, he is watching defense companies because they could be re-rated beyond defense into aerospace and space, similar to how humanoid robotics re-rated parts of the market. The government's satellite and space roadmap through 2030-2032 could create new growth momentum, and he may allocate some portfolio exposure to larger defense and aerospace names.

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This 815 Money Talk (815머니톡) video, published January 02, 2026, features Lee Young-hoon discussing EWY, KOSDAQ, KOSDAQ biotech sector, 068270.KS, Korean semiconductor equipment and materials sector, 005930.KS, 000660.KS, 005380.KS, Korean humanoid robot sector, Korean defense and aerospace sector. 8 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Lee Young-hoon · Tickers: EWY, KOSDAQ, KOSDAQ biotech sector, 068270.KS, Korean semiconductor equipment and materials sector, 005930.KS, 000660.KS, 005380.KS, Korean humanoid robot sector, Korean defense and aerospace sector