Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
📌 Key Research Highlights
- Broker: Hana Securities | Investment Rating: Buy (Maintained)
- Target Price: 480,000 KRW (~$360 USD based on 1334 KRW/USD)
- Core Thesis: Significant upward revision of 2027 earnings driven by HBM4 leadership and memory price momentum, coupled with substantial shareholder return expectations.
Investment Thesis and Target Price
Hana Securities maintains a Buy rating and a Target Price of 480,000 KRW (~$360 USD based on 1334 KRW/USD). While the analyst has significantly raised the 2027 earnings forecasts, the target price remains unchanged to reflect a general downward trend in valuation multiples across global semiconductor peers. The analyst views the stock as severely undervalued, noting that the projected shareholder return scale represents 8.1% of the current market capitalization. Long-term earnings stability has been secured through Long-Term Agreements (LTAs), increasing the likelihood of strengthened shareholder return policies starting in 2027.
Earnings Estimates and Financial Preview
2027 Annual Forecast (Revised):
- Revenue: 1,012.4 trillion KRW (~$759B USD), a Year-over-Year (YoY) increase of 40% (Revised up by 15.7% from previous estimate).
- Operating Profit: 624.4 trillion KRW (~$468B USD), a YoY increase of 61% (Revised up by 20.1% from previous estimate).
4Q26 Preview:
- Estimated Operating Profit: 134 trillion KRW (~$100.4B USD).
- Memory Assumptions: Price increases of 12% for DRAM and 9% for NAND Flash; Bit Growth (B/G) increases of 17% for DRAM and 14% for NAND Flash.
3Q26 Review:
- DS Division Operating Profit: 106.5 trillion KRW (~$79.8B USD), up 19% Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ).
- Memory Pricing: DRAM rose 20% and NAND Flash rose 17% (estimated).
- Divisional Performance: Foundry reduced losses due to increased utilization of 4nm nodes. The MX division narrowed its QoQ loss through price hikes and improved foldable product mix despite rising component costs.
Key Semiconductor Drivers and Catalysts
HBM and Next-Gen Memory:
- HBM4 Momentum: The full-scale supply of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) 4 has led to revenue increasing more than 3x QoQ, with HBM4’s share within the HBM portfolio expanding to 60%.
- Market Share: A meaningful expansion in HBM market share was observed in the second half of 2026, with further growth expected in 2027.
- Product Mix: Growth is being driven by HBM4, server-grade DDR5, SOCAMM, and eSSD.
Shareholder Returns:
- The company shared a 2026 annual shareholder return scale of up to 110 trillion KRW (~$82.5B USD), consisting of approximately 70 trillion KRW (~$52.5B USD) in dividends and 40 trillion KRW (~$30B USD) in share buybacks and cancellations, pending board approval in January 2027.
🔗 Original Source: View the official filing/article here.