Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix recovered intraday on Thursday after opening lower, as Micron Technology’s record results reinforced the view that the global memory shortage is becoming more severe rather than easing.
Micron reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $54.23 billion and guided for $61.5 billion next quarter, both ahead of expectations.
Management also said supply-demand conditions could tighten further in 2027 and 2028 as AI infrastructure consumes more memory.
But the Korean chip rebound comes with a warning. The US 10-year Treasury yield recently moved above 5.3%, its highest since 2002, raising the valuation hurdle for technology stocks.
Micron just confirmed the shortage has further to run
Micron’s report was more than another earnings beat, as it showed customers trying to secure memory years in advance.
The company said customer financial commitments under its strategic agreements rose to $32 billion from $22 billion in June, while more than 75% of its fiscal 2027 shipment volume is already committed to customers.
Chief executive Sanjay Mehrotra said the supply-demand balance could become even tighter in fiscal 2027 and 2028.
That matters directly for Samsung and SK Hynix because all three companies sell into the same AI-driven memory shortage.
NH Investment & Securities analyst Ryu Young-ho told ChosunBiz that AI spending is broadening beyond hyperscalers towards corporations and governments.
He argued that inference workloads and AI agents are accelerating CPU demand, creating “excess demand for memory.”
Micron has given investors an early look at how profitable the environment could become for Korea’s memory leaders if customers lock in supply before delivery.
HBM worries are colliding with extraordinary demand
The biggest challenge is whether soaring memory costs eventually force AI-chip designers to use less HBM per accelerator.
Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya has called those “de-spec” concerns overstated, according to MarketWatch. He argues that total memory demand remains powerful enough to offset lower HBM content on individual products.
If Nvidia trims memory specifications, rivals such as AMD may differentiate by offering more capacity elsewhere.
Micron COO Manish Bhatia made a similar point after earnings.
Lower memory content per accelerator can allow customers to ship more accelerators, meaning fewer gigabytes on each chip do not automatically translate into weaker overall HBM demand.
The distinction matters for Samsung and SK Hynix, as the bullish case increasingly rests on total AI-system memory consumption across HBM, server DRAM and NAND rather than any single specification.
A 5.3% Treasury yield is the warning
The bond market is the clearest threat to that optimism.
Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young told Seoul Economic Daily that the assumption markets must cope with high interest rates “has not changed”.
He said the key question is whether earnings can become strong enough to withstand those rates.
Foreign flows show that concern. Foreign investors sold a net 21.51 trillion won of KOSPI shares in September, extending their selling streak to five months. SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics accounted for 76.6% of that selling.
The 10-year Treasury yield recently moved above 5.3%, reaching its highest level since May 2002.
That creates an unusual battle for Korean investors. Earnings expectations are moving sharply higher while one of the market’s most important marginal buyers has been moving the other way.
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