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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] As Nvidia—the global leader in AI semiconductors—delivered a stronger-than-expected earnings report, investor attention is turning to South Korea's top chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. In particular, foreign investors—major players in the Korean stock market—are exhibiting contrasting investment behavior toward the two companies.
According to data from the Korea Exchange (KRX) on June 3, foreign investors purchased approximately KRW 23.5 billion worth of SK hynix shares from May 29 to June 2. In contrast, they sold KRW 14.6 billion worth of Samsung Electronics shares during the same period.
This divergence comes despite Nvidia’s record earnings, announced on May 28 (local time), which surpassed market expectations.
Nvidia reported $44.06 billion (approx. KRW 60.6 trillion) in revenue for the February–April quarter, marking a 69% year-on-year increase. This exceeded analysts’ consensus of $43.31 billion, compiled by market research firm LSEG.
The company's earnings per share (EPS) also beat expectations, coming in at $0.96, higher than the forecast of $0.93.
On May 29 (U.S. time), buoyed by these strong results, Nvidia briefly overtook Microsoft to become the most valuable company in the world by market capitalization.
Despite Nvidia's upbeat earnings, foreign investors appear to be favoring SK hynix, likely due to its strong positioning in the AI memory market, while showing a relatively cautious stance toward Samsung Electronics.
Market watchers will be closely monitoring whether this foreign capital trend continues and how it may influence the Korean semiconductor sector moving forward.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
