"They said it would reach 3 million won, but the one-month return was 82.32%"... Semiconductor ETFs holding Samsung Electro-Mechanics surge

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[Financial News] Samsung Electro-Mechanics, which has rapidly emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global explosion in Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure, is also influencing the KOSPI market-cap rankings and ETF returns.
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According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 2nd, Samsung Electro-Mechanics closed at 2,005,000 won the previous day, down about 5% from the prior session, and appeared to be taking a breather. After soaring 153.52% in May alone, the stock seems to be pausing after its sharp short-term rally. In the premarket session on the same day, it also fell more than 4% from the previous close, slipping back below the 2 million won level.
 
On the 29th of last month, the previous trading day, Samsung Electro-Mechanics surged intraday to 2,192,000 won, breaking above 2 million won for the first time and setting a new 52-week high. According to Newsis, that gain was roughly two to three times larger than the rise in the two leading domestic semiconductor stocks, Samsung Electronics (42.79%) and SK hynix (79.46%), over the same period.
As the stock price soared, Samsung Electro-Mechanics also climbed to fourth place in market capitalization, overtaking Hyundai Motor Company with a market value of 158 trillion won, excluding preferred shares of Samsung Electronics. However, SK Square, Hyundai Motor Company, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics are closely clustered in the 140 trillion won to 160 trillion won range for market capitalization, so a fierce reshuffling among the top ranks is expected for the time being.
What stands out is that the sharp rise in the stock has also reshaped returns in the domestic semiconductor ETF market. Major AI semiconductor ETFs with heavy exposure to Samsung Electro-Mechanics swept the top spots with overwhelming returns of 70% to 80%.
The strongest performer over the past month was 'RISE Global AI Server and Network Infrastructure ETF,' which posted a return of 82.32%. The fund focuses on key companies benefiting from surging global demand for AI servers, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics has the largest weighting among its current holdings at 35.71%.
'IBK K-AI Semiconductor Core Technology ETF' (79.91%) and 'ACE Korea AI Core Industry ETF' (71.57%) also hold Samsung Electro-Mechanics as their largest constituent, with weights of 33.63% and 34.97%, respectively. 'SOL AI Semiconductor TOP2 Plus ETF,' which has Samsung Electro-Mechanics as its second-largest holding after SK hynix at 27.17% with a 25.59% weight, also posted a one-month return of 76.10%.
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The reason behind Samsung Electro-Mechanics' steep rally lies in the surge in demand for high-value-added components driven by the expansion of the AI industry. After memory semiconductors such as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), high-voltage, high-capacity Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors (MLCC) for AI servers have emerged as a key beneficiary.
Brokerages are also raising their target prices for Samsung Electro-Mechanics one after another. Analysts say MLCC prices are rising, while FC-BGA, a core substrate business, continues to show structural growth and maintains an irreplaceable position in the market.
DB Securities analyst Cho Hyun-ji said on the day, "Both high-density semiconductor package substrates (FCBGA) and multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) are enjoying an unprecedented boom, and the multiples of FCBGA and MLCC companies are also being revised upward continuously." She added, "Since both components are backed by top-tier technology, Samsung Electro-Mechanics occupies an irreplaceable position. Operating profit at Samsung Electro-Mechanics is expected to rise to 3 trillion won next year, up 84.8% from this year, and then increase another 41.9% to 4.3 trillion won in 2028," raising the target price to 3 million won.
Mirae Asset Securities analyst Park Joon-seo also said, "The current AI cycle surpasses the past MLCC shortage cycle of 2017-2018 and the electric vehicle cycle of 2021-2022," adding, "With long-term growth becoming visible through multi-year exclusive contracts, we believe the 2029 valuation point is justified." He raised the target price by 115% to 2.8 million won.
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter