[Edaily Reporter Shin Ha-yeon ] As U.S. memory semiconductor company Micron announced its best-ever earnings, surpassing market expectations, investor interest is focusing on domestic semiconductor-related stocks. This is driven by growing expectations that the semiconductor boom could be prolonged, as demand for both high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and general-purpose memory increases due to expanding investments in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. In particular, as memory manufacturers begin to aggressively expand their production facilities, investor sentiment is spreading to domestic semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment (MPE) companies.

According to the financial investment industry on the 3rd, SamsungElectronics(005930)closed at 276,000 won during regular trading on the 2nd. Following a 2.79% rise the previous day, the stock closed flat that day. SK hynix(000660)closed at 1,841,000 won on the 2nd, up 0.44%. Continuing its upward trend after a 3.21% rise on the 1st, the stock recorded a cumulative gain of 3.66% over the two days.

The upward trend among semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment stocks was even more pronounced. LEENO Industrial Inc(058470)surged 10.90% on the 1st and rose another 3.56% on the 2nd, closing at 84,300 won. YC Corporation(232140) also rose 9.51% and 5.56%, respectively, during the same period, closing at 16,890 won. Both stocks posted gains of around 15% over the two days.

On the other hand, some stocks saw profit-taking following their short-term surges. Eugene Technology Co., Ltd.(084370)surged 10.92% on the 1st but fell 4.90% on the 2nd, while WONIK IPS Co.,Ltd.(240810)rose 9.13% over the same period before dropping 3.69%. PSK HOLDINGS INC.(031980)and Park Systems Corp.(140860) also rose 8.62% and 9.11%, respectively, on the 1st, but fell slightly on the 2nd. While optimism is spreading across the semiconductor sector as a whole, stock price trends are diverging on a stock-by-stock basis.

The catalyst for the surge in semiconductor stocks was Micron’s fourth-quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings report, released on the 30th of last month (local time). Micron’s quarterly revenue hit a record high of $54.23 billion, a 379% increase from the same period last year. This result exceeded market expectations of around $51 billion. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) also surpassed market expectations at $33.42.

The outlook for future performance was also positive. Micron projected revenue of $61.5 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, significantly exceeding market expectations of approximately $57 billion. The company also forecast that supply shortages could persist for several years amid rapidly growing demand for memory, particularly from AI data centers.

In particular, Micron is expanding its investments in production facilities and technology to meet rising demand. This is in preparation for the possibility that the supply shortage will not be a temporary phenomenon but will persist over the medium to long term. The strong earnings of global memory companies and their plans to expand capital expenditures are fueling optimism regarding domestic semiconductor manufacturers and equipment suppliers.

Domestic semiconductor export figures also supported these expectations. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, semiconductor exports in September reached a record high of $60.3 billion, a 262.8% increase from the same period last year. This result stems from a combination of expanding export volumes and rising unit prices amid sustained memory demand. This confirms that the improvement in the global memory market is translating into actual export performance for domestic companies.

Market attention is now shifting beyond the improved earnings of memory manufacturers to increased investment in semiconductor production facilities. This is because, if memory demand continues to rise, major companies such as SamsungElectronics and SK hynix will need to expand production capacity and advance their manufacturing processes. This could lead to an increase in orders for domestic companies that supply the equipment, materials, and components necessary for semiconductor manufacturing.

In particular, as the AI semiconductor market grows, the importance of not only the front-end processes—which produce semiconductors—but also the back-end processes—which connect and inspect the produced semiconductors—is increasing. Since HBM is created by vertically stacking multiple DRAM chips, it undergoes more complex manufacturing and inspection processes than conventional memory. As AI semiconductor performance becomes more advanced, investment in precision packaging and inspection technologies is bound to expand.

Park Jun-young, an analyst at HANWHA INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, highlighted the growth potential of back-end equipment manufacturers and memory testing equipment companies in a semiconductor industry report published on the 30th of last month. He paid particular attention to PSK HOLDINGS INC.(031980). His analysis suggests that demand for related equipment could rise as global foundries expand their investments in advanced packaging and memory manufacturers simultaneously increase their HBM production capacity. He also identified YC Corporation(232140), a supplier of HBM wafer testing equipment, and Exicon Co., Ltd.(092870), a semiconductor testing equipment manufacturer, as companies to watch.

As semiconductor manufacturing processes become more complex, interest is also focusing on companies that produce precision metrology equipment. SKSecurities also highlighted the growth potential of Park Systems Corp.(140860)driven by expanding investment in semiconductor back-end processes. In a report released on the 30th of last month, SKSecurities analyst Lee Dong-ju stated, “MI (Metrology & Inspection) within the back-end process is a new blue ocean.” Anticipating that demand for precision metrology equipment will expand as AI semiconductor packaging becomes more sophisticated, the firm raised its target price from 350,000 won to 390,000 won.

In fact, Park Systems Corp.’s order backlog increased from 87.1 billion won in the first quarter of this year to 112.5 billion won in the second quarter. SKSecurities viewed the expanding supply of high-value-added new equipment positively. In particular, the firm analyzed that as AI semiconductor packaging technology becomes more sophisticated, the importance of precision metrology—which can detect not only defects but also minute deviations—is growing.

However, expectations of an improvement in the semiconductor market do not necessarily translate directly into increased earnings for all materials, parts, and equipment companies. The extent to which individual companies benefit may vary depending on how much global memory manufacturers actually expand their capital expenditures and which manufacturing processes those investments are focused on. Given the recent sharp rise in stock prices, whether the company can meet the heightened earnings expectations is also a key issue.

The analyst predicted, “Thanks to the effects of expanded investment across the semiconductor industry as a whole, as well as the miniaturization and large-area trends in back-end processes, the order backlog is expected to follow an upward trend next year.”