[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] KIWOOM Securities has further lowered its target prices for SamsungElectronics(005930)and SK hynix(000660), the top two companies by market capitalization in South Korea. The firm has withdrawn its previous forecast that the semiconductor supercycle would continue through 2028, analyzing instead that earnings growth will peak this year and enter a downturn starting next year.

On the 11th, Park Yu-ak, an analyst at KIWOOM Securities, released a report lowering SamsungElectronics’ target price from 390,000 won to 350,000 won and SK hynix’s from 2.2 million won to 2.1 million won. This adjustment was primarily driven by a significant reduction in medium- to long-term earnings estimates for next year and beyond. The securities industry is reflecting the assessment that the semiconductor market has peaked sooner than initially expected.
Regarding the lowering of the target prices for both stocks, Analyst Park explained, “This reflects adjustments to earnings forecasts and market interest rates.” In fact, KIWOOM Securities raised its operating profit forecast for SK hynix this year but cut its 2027 operating profit forecast from 262 trillion won to 221 trillion won. The 2028 forecast was also lowered from 266 trillion won to 207 trillion won.
Expectations for SamsungElectronics’ long-term earnings have also been scaled back. The company’s 2027 operating profit forecast was lowered from 414 trillion won to 352 trillion won, while the 2028 forecast was significantly revised downward from 439 trillion won to 321 trillion won. This effectively dashes market expectations of a long-term upward trend through 2028.
The pace of target price cuts is also steep. Analyst Park lowered the target price for SK hynix from 2.6 million won to 2.2 million won just half a month ago, on the 30th of last month, and has now lowered it again. SamsungElectronics’ target price has also fallen once more in just over a month, following the previous cut on the 8th of last month (from 430,000 won to 390,000 won).
At the time, Analyst Park stated, “While SamsungElectronics’ stock price has been on an upward trend driven by EPS (earnings per share) growth, we expect volatility to increase in the second half of the year—when the EPS growth rate slows significantly—due to changing factors in the memory industry,” and “Given expectations for SamsungElectronics to gain market share in the HBM4 and eSSD markets, as well as concerns over rising market share by Chinese memory manufacturers, investors need to prepare for increased stock price volatility,” he advised.