[Alpha Biz= Kim Eun-mi] South Korea’s two leading chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, are significantly undervalued and should see their combined market capitalization exceed KRW 3,300 trillion, according to a report by KB Securities.

The brokerage estimated that the two companies’ combined operating profit for this year will reach KRW 586 trillion, roughly five times higher than that of TSMC, which is projected at KRW 129 trillion.

Despite stronger earnings prospects, their combined market capitalization stands at KRW 2,214 trillion, well below TSMC’s KRW 2,869 trillion.

Kim Dong-won, head of research at KB Securities, said the two Korean firms are trading at excessive discounts. “Considering the pace and scale of earnings growth, a fair valuation would place Samsung Electronics at over KRW 2,000 trillion and SK Hynix at more than KRW 1,300 trillion,” he said.

The report highlighted memory semiconductors as a strategic asset for the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure over the next five years, suggesting strong visibility for further market cap growth.

Kim added that the companies are increasingly signing long-term agreements (LTAs) with cloud and GPU firms, signaling a structural tightening in memory supply. He noted that this trend also reflects a shift toward a foundry-like production model similar to TSMC, based on secured order-driven capacity.

 

 

 

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