以数字看，两家南韩记忆体厂目前约以预估获利 6 倍本益比交易，对比费城半导体指数（含 Nvidia 与同业 Micron）逾 25 倍。分析师称传统 DRAM 利润率已飙破 80%，主因晶片商为供应 AI 所需高频宽记忆体（HBM）而大幅转线，造成一般用途晶片严重供给紧缩；HBM 先前以约 60% 利润率吸引产能，如今「旧产品」反而更赚。
但市场仍有「景气循环见顶」焦虑。Petra Capital Management 的 Albert Yong 说，交易员一半相信 AI 让「这次不一样」，另一半在等回档。Janus Henderson 的 Richard Clode 认为，强劲 AI 需求带来创纪录利润率，且长期合约使周期更耐久；这也推动 SK Hynix 考虑今年进行美国 ADR 上市以降低折价。库存方面，伺服器库存降至个位数周，智慧型手机与 PC 约 10 周；而 UBS Global Wealth Management 的 Xingchen Yu 仍偏正向但提醒这是战术交易，并估 DRAM 价格可能在 2027 年年中附近见顶，市场或提前 1 年反映。
South Korea’s equity market is surging on memory chips, as conventional DRAM has shifted from a “commodity” inside PCs and smartphones to a scarce input shaping everything from Nintendo console margins to global AI data-center buildouts. Samsung and SK Hynix, the country’s two biggest companies, have become go-to suppliers: Samsung is up about 130% this year and SK Hynix has roughly tripled, yet the “Korea discount” persists. Even after Samsung joined the US$1 trillion valuation club last week, both stocks still trade far below global peers.
By the numbers, the two Korean memory makers trade at roughly 6x forward earnings, versus more than 25x for the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (home to Nvidia and rival Micron). Analysts say conventional DRAM margins are now screaming past 80%, driven by a supply squeeze as producers pivoted capacity toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI. HBM previously pulled in the 60% margin range, but the older products have become even more lucrative as general-purpose supply has tightened.
Peak-cycle anxiety remains. Albert Yong of Petra Capital Management says half of traders think “this time is different” because of AI, while the other half are braced for a rug-pull. Richard Clode of Janus Henderson argues the rally is supported by record margins and longer-term contracts, a backdrop that also explains SK Hynix considering a US ADR listing this year. Inventories look thin: server stock is down to single-digit weeks, and smartphones and PCs are about 10 weeks. UBS Global Wealth Management’s Xingchen Yu stays cautiously positive but calls it a tactical trade, expecting DRAM prices to peak around mid-2027, potentially priced in about a year earlier.