[E-Daily Reporter Park Sun-Yeop ] An analysis suggests that investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure is driving structural changes in the semiconductor industry, potentially leading domestic semiconductor equipment, materials, and components companies into a long-term boom. While semiconductor demand was historically centered on traditional IT devices such as PCs and smartphones, AI servers and data centers are now emerging as new drivers of demand, and this is expected to lead to significant improvements in the earnings of equipment, materials, and components companies.
Lee Chang-min, an analyst at KB Securities, issued a 12-month “Positive” investment rating for the semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment sector in a report on the 7th and initiated coverage. The coverage includes five companies: PSK INC.(319660), DB HiTek Co.,LTD(000990), HPSP Co., Ltd.(403870), PSK HOLDINGS INC.(031980), and TOKAI CARBON KOREA CO., LTD(064760). KB Securities estimates that the combined operating profit of these five companies will grow at an average annual rate of 37% from 2025 to 2028.

The analyst concluded that the semiconductor industry has recently moved beyond a simple economic rebound and entered an AI-driven structural supercycle. This is because, following the proliferation of generative AI, the emergence of agentic AI is shifting the structure such that a single request now undergoes multiple stages of inference, verification, and execution. The report explains that even with the same number of users, the volume of computations to be processed is increasing exponentially, leading to simultaneous growth in demand across all major semiconductor products, including GPUs, HBM, high-performance DRAM, and enterprise SSDs (eSSDs).
The fact that demand is growing rapidly while supply is failing to keep pace is also cited as a factor fueling expectations for an industry recovery. KB Securities predicted that the pace of supply growth would be limited due to the burden of investing in cutting-edge processes and production constraints for high-complexity products such as HBM. Consequently, the firm forecast that market conditions driven by supply shortages could persist until at least 2028.
In particular, competition among Big Tech companies over data center investments was identified as a key driver of semiconductor demand. According to the report, the average capital intensity of major cloud service providers (CSPs)—including Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Oracle—is estimated to reach 43% in 2026. This indicates that the trend of reinvesting more than 40% of revenue into AI data centers and computing infrastructure will continue.
The base of memory demand is also broadening. While rising demand for AI servers is the key driver of the memory market, the report forecasts that the demand base for DRAM will expand further in 2026 as replacement demand for general-purpose servers gains momentum. KB Securities analyzed that the memory consumption structure is shifting from an “AI server-centric” model to encompass the “entire server market,” and that the average selling price (ASP) of general-purpose DRAM could rise by 100% due to tight supply and demand conditions resulting from supply constraints.
The firm also noted that the NAND market has entered a phase of structural change, rather than merely a recovery in demand for simple storage devices. The firm explained that as generative AI and agentic AI become more widespread, the volume of data to be processed during inference is growing rapidly, and with the introduction of long-term storage-based memory concepts, data storage is shifting from a one-time to a cumulative structure. Consequently, NAND demand is expected to shift from a focus on PCs and mobile devices to a focus on data centers and AI infrastructure, with a notable increase in demand for high-performance eSSDs.
KB Securities predicted that this trend could lead to a revaluation of domestic semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment companies. This is because, once the memory capacity expansion cycle gains full momentum around 2027–2028, investment is likely to increase across the entire value chain, including both front-end and back-end processes. In particular, the firm believes that small and medium-sized materials, parts, and equipment companies may see their importance further highlighted, as they tend to benefit more significantly from the earnings leverage effect associated with the investment cycle.
The firm identified PSK INC. and TOKAI CARBON KOREA CO., LTD. as top picks. It projected that PSK INC. would benefit from the prolonged front-end investment cycle, supported by its diversified global customer base across all application areas. For TOKAI CARBON KOREA CO., LTD., the firm expects high earnings growth in its SiC focusing ring business, driven by expanded NAND investment, the trend toward higher-layer products, and increased shipments to the DRAM and foundry sectors.
The analyst stated, “Semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment companies will benefit from a capacity expansion cycle that is longer and stronger than ever before,” adding, “We expect a long-term trend of strong earnings driven by this ‘promised boom.’”