An upward graph soars over AI data centers and memory semiconductors, while big tech devices burdened by costs are placed on one side. Micron's earnings reaffirmed the pricing power of AI memory suppliers but left big tech companies with the homework of managing cost pressures. [Photo = Hanmi Ilbo Graphics]

 The focal point of the stock market in the fourth week of June was undoubtedly semiconductors. At the beginning of the week, semiconductor stocks were significantly shaken by profit-taking. 

Caution grew ahead of Micron's earnings release, leading the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index to plummet by 7.9%. Selling pressure was concentrated on NVIDIA and Micron as well. In the Korean stock market, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix increased the volatility of the entire index.

Last week’s checkpoint was Micron. The core question was whether the semiconductor rally was an industry-wide rise or an overheating of expectations for memory, centered around Micron. 

The earnings report this week provided an important answer. Micron announced results and guidance that exceeded market expectations, leading to a 15.9% rise in regular trading following an after-hours surge. SanDisk rose 22.0% and Applied Materials climbed 13.4%, as the strength spread across memory and equipment stocks.

The theme of this week’s stock market performance is "the reaffirmation of memory pricing power." 

What the market confirmed was not just simple revenue growth. It recognized that as long as demand for AI accelerators persists, bottlenecks in HBM and high-performance memory will not be easily resolved, and those bottlenecks provide memory suppliers with pricing power.

In this structure, there are winners and those who bear the burden. Pricing power is a boon for memory companies. Conversely, it is a cost burden for big tech and hardware firms that need to purchase that memory. 

This is the reason why Apple showed weakness this week due to the burden of raising product prices in response to rising memory costs, and why Microsoft and Amazon fell amid concerns over AI infrastructure investment expenses.

In other words, the weakness in big tech this week was not a sign of an AI collapse. Because AI investment is continuing, cost burdens have increased, and those costs are pressuring the margins of big tech companies as the end users. On the contrary, it has become a positive factor for memory suppliers in the form of pricing power. The market has effectively recalculated where profits are shifting within the AI value chain.

In Korea, SK Hynix's rise to the top of the market capitalization rankings was symbolic. It was highly significant in that Samsung Electronics surrendered its spot as the market leader for the first time since 2000. However, it is difficult to interpret this merely as an HBM bubble. 

The market has evaluated Hynix's profits as more sustainable over the long term.

General-purpose DRAM carries the risk of margin erosion due to competition from China. In contrast, HBM remains relatively free from that pressure for now. Even for the same amount of profit, a higher multiple is applied to earnings that are likely to be preserved for longer. 

The revaluation of Hynix reflects exactly this difference. The market did not just look at "who earns more," but rather "whose earnings can be sustained for longer."

Of course, this does not mean a permanent coronation for SK Hynix. No one knows where the next technological regime will shift. Samsung Electronics still holds a safety net in its broad product portfolio and research and development capabilities. 

However, looking solely at the quality of earnings at this point in time, the reason the market has assigned a higher value to Hynix is clear.

The question this week is this: 

"Has the AI semiconductor rally ended, or has the memory supplier taken the lead?"

The answer is closer to the latter. If AI demand had faltered, memory pricing power should have weakened as well. But Micron's earnings said the opposite. Demand is alive, bottlenecks persist, and profits are shifting toward the suppliers.

The conclusion in one sentence is this: 

"The stock market this week did not deny AI, but rather recalculated who gains the profit within the AI value chain."

Next week’s checkpoints are fourfold.

First, we must watch how much the Micron earnings effect translates into profit expectations for SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics. 

Second, it is crucial to see whether market expectations for HBM prices and supply bottlenecks are maintained. 

Third, we need to verify whether the cost burden of AI investment for big tech leads to further weakness. 

Fourth, we must check whether the concentration of capital toward Korea’s two semiconductor giants eases, or if it continues to increase index volatility.

※ This material is for reference analysis of market trends and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any specific financial product.