Nomura significantly raised target prices for Samsung and SK Hynix, with AI-driven memory demand growing exponentially

Odaily Planet Daily News Nomura released a report indicating that the demand driven by artificial intelligence is growing exponentially, while memory supply is limited, likely leading to a valuation re-rating for memory stocks. The firm has significantly raised the target prices for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The target price for Samsung has been raised from 340,000 won to 590,000 won, and the target price for SK Hynix has been raised from 2,340,000 won to 4,000,000 won, both with a “Buy” rating. Nomura stated that as the demand for AI semiconductors shifts from training to inference workloads, memory demand is entering a period of exponential expansion.

In comparison, the firm believes that industry supply growth during the same period may still be limited to about 5 to 6 times (compounded annual growth rate of approximately 30%), raising a serious question of whether the structural supply shortage can truly be resolved. The report mentioned that currently, the industry is attempting to narrow this widening supply-demand gap through various software and architectural-level optimizations, but Nomura believes these solutions can only slow the growth rate, not reverse the trend. (Jin Shi)