Even investors in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix say: “If it goes up, I sell first”... Retail investors grow wary of long-term investing [Why the stock market?]

[Financial News] “I don’t think the company’s outlook is bad. Still, if I make a profit, I plan to sell first. I’m more afraid of waiting and giving back all my gains.”“I used to think that because it was a large-cap stock, I could just hold onto it. But after seeing the gains in my account disappear, I feel more comfortable selling some—even if I think it could go higher.”Caution about holding stocks for the long term is growing among individual investors in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. This comes as share-price volatility has increased despite expectations that semiconductor demand will rise as the artificial intelligence (AI) market expands. Rather than betting on companies’ long-term growth, investors appear increasingly inclined to take profits during short-term rebounds.
On the 24th, according to the Korea Exchange, Samsung Electronics shares fell about 22% from the start of this month through the previous day, while SK hynix shares dropped about 30%. Concerns about the sustainability of AI demand and competition from China weighed on share prices. While some analysts said the declines had deepened without any fundamental deterioration in industry conditions, worries about selling are now at odds with the case for buying at lower prices.
A representative at a securities firm noted, “The experience of seeing share prices fall sharply even when a company’s outlook remains intact makes it difficult for investors to decide whether to hold. It is not easy to endure immediate mark-to-market losses based solely on confidence in long-term growth.”
The semiconductor industry’s characteristics are also seen as a factor deepening investors’ concerns in a domestic stock market heavily dependent on Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Earnings forecasts can change depending on memory prices, customers’ investment plans and the pace of supply expansion. Even investors who agree that AI demand will grow over the long term differ in how much of the share-price correction along the way they are willing to endure. There can be a time lag between the broad direction of long-term growth and the market’s assessment of quarterly earnings.
Foreign trading is another factor investors are watching. Foreign investors have sold more than 3.7 trillion won worth of Samsung Electronics shares just since the start of this month. Foreign investors’ net sales of SK hynix shares over the same period totaled 9.7432 trillion won, approaching 10 trillion won.
The opportunity cost of waiting is another factor shaking investors’ resolve to hold stocks for the long term. If other investments rise while the stocks they hold go nowhere, investors may feel they are losing not only returns but also time. The more frequently they trade, the higher the costs and the chance of mistakes in judgment, but the desire to reduce immediate uncertainty can take precedence.
That does not mean individual investors as a whole have given up on the long-term outlook for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. In a survey released by ConsumerInsight in July, 32% of holders of the two stocks said they intended to buy more, exceeding the 8% who said they intended to sell. Those who said they would wait and see accounted for 60%.
KB Securities estimated that Samsung Electronics’ annual operating profit would rise 742% in 2026 and 51% in 2027 year over year, to 367 trillion won and 555 trillion won, respectively. In particular, with 80% of next year’s memory production volume secured through long-term supply contracts, it expects prices for both High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and commodity DRAM to rise, bringing a double-digit increase in memory prices starting in the first quarter of next year.
Kim Dong-won, head of KB Securities’ Research Center, said, “We believe the recent share-price correction stems not from a deterioration in Samsung Electronics’ fundamental earnings-generating capacity, but from valuation adjustments amid macroeconomic uncertainty and weakened investor sentiment,” adding, “In the short term, share-price volatility may increase due to macroeconomic factors, but the likelihood that next year’s earnings growth, supported by volumes secured through long-term supply contracts and rising memory prices,
will be significantly undermined is limited,” he assessed.
Hana Securities analyst Kim Rok-ho forecast that SK hynix “is set to announce additional shareholder returns at its third-quarter earnings announcement,” adding, “We expect at least 30 trillion won in funds for additional shareholder returns based on free cash flow, and estimate that share buybacks and cancellations will be prioritized over dividends.”

[email protected] Choi Doo-seon Reporter