Will the Strong Performance of Domestic Semiconductor Stocks Continue Due to Nvidia's Earnings Surprise?

[Financial News] U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor company Nvidia has posted a surprise performance (earnings surprise) for the first quarter, leading to a strong performance of semiconductor-related stocks. The securities industry believes that Nvidia's strong performance will stimulate expectations for AI infrastructure investment and induce a positive supply flow across the domestic semiconductor industry.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 29th, SK Hynix closed at 212,000 won, up 1.92% from the previous trading day. Samsung Electronics also closed at 56,100 won, up 0.36%.
Previously, Nvidia announced its first-quarter results for the fiscal year 2025 (February to April) on the 28th (local time), which exceeded market expectations. Revenue increased by 69% year-on-year to $44 billion, and net profit surged by 26% to $18.8 billion. 
As a result, domestic semiconductor-related stocks showed strength.  From the previous day, expectations for earnings were reflected in advance, with Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and others showing a rise of around 3%. The rise in stock prices was led by institutions. Institutions net purchased 302.1 billion won of SK Hynix and 255.3 billion won of Samsung Electronics from the 28th to the 29th.
The securities industry is analyzing that the increase in AI server demand and the expansion of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and enterprise solid-state drive (eSSD) demand could directly lead to a recovery in semiconductor performance.  In particular, as NAND flash prices are on the rise, there is also the possibility of a rebound in the performance of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which have a high proportion of NAND flash sales, in the second half of the year.
Do Sang-woo, a researcher at KB Securities, said, “The full-scale introduction of AI servers and the expansion of data center infrastructure will drive the eSSD market into a supply shortage,” adding, “The eSSD market is expected to see a price increase of up to 10% in the third and fourth quarters with low finished product inventory.”
He continued, “The increase in AI server demand leads to an increase in memory demand such as HBM and eSSD, and it is expected to have a positive impact on the NAND flash performance of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.”
Ryu Hyung-geun, a researcher at Daishin Securities, diagnosed, “While the supply of Nvidia's new products is stabilizing, the demand for inference investment centered on big tech is increasing,” adding, “The phenomenon of pulling forward pre-orders for HBM3e 12-layer products is appearing, and the competition to secure supply lines is intensifying.”
The next-generation AI GPU ‘GB300’ series, scheduled to be released in the second half of the year, is also expected to act as an additional demand factor for the domestic semiconductor industry. Nvidia applied the high-stability platform Bianca (1 CPU + 2 GPUs) for early introduction compared to the existing plan, and it is analyzed that the demand for securing high-performance memory will also rise in tandem.
The market is paying attention to the possibility that the expansion of AI demand will not be a short-term effect but will lead to a simultaneous increase in memory prices and shipments. Researcher Do added, “As long as the AI server investment trend continues, the demand for high-value-added memory centered on HBM and eSSD will structurally increase,” adding, “The current stock price reflects most uncertainties, so there is enough room for valuation re-evaluation if future performance visibility increases.”    
koreanbae@fnnews.com Bae Hangul Reporter