SK Securities put out the report I have attached today.
The content is a bit long, but it looks like a concise summary of the various opinions that have gone back and forth about memory semiconductors — valuation on a PER and PBR basis, the peak-out of average selling prices, and whether it is still a cyclical industry even when LTA contracts are in place.
Of course I do not agree with the report 100% — will the memory cycle really disappear — but even so, points such as generating profit after the depreciation of older AI semiconductor equipment, which is a talking point today, and shifting the perspective toward sustaining continuous revenue growth rather than focusing on future increases in memory selling prices, seem to be things many people have already mentioned and agreed with.
But among the factors that drive share prices, the part that stimulates investor sentiment — things like returning surplus cash to shareholders — is very weak at Korean companies, so I suspect the final position of the share price will be determined by how much Samsung Electronics or Hynix improve on this going forward.
