$HY9H (-0.31%)

SK Hynix's latest memory chip comes with QLC technology and a capacity of 2 terabits. The chips could enable SSDs with more memory.

The world's second largest memory manufacturer SK Hynix is expanding its NAND flash generation V9 with a QLC version that stores four bits per cell (Quadruple Level Cells). It follows two years after the introduction of the TLC version (Tiple Level Cells with three bits). The QLC version doubles the storage capacity per chip from one to two terabits - probably accompanied by an increase in chip size.

The latest offshoot also works with 321 memory layers per chip. Just four of these chips stacked on top of each other results in a module with a capacity of one terabyte. 16 chips would result in 4 TByte in a small space.

PC SSDs first

SK Hynix is currently ramping up series production of the new QLC chips. The first products are set to appear in the first half of 2026. The manufacturer also sells its chips to third-party manufacturers who do not produce their own memory. According to the announcement, PC SSDs will be the first to go. The focus of QLC memory is on high capacity at the expense of performance compared to TLC. It is possible that this will result in M.2 SSDs with a capacity of 4 TByte that are around 30 mm short - until now, the limit has been 2 TByte.

In the long term, however, the focus is on high-capacity SSDs for data centers, as is typical for QLC. SK Hynix also wants to end up primarily in data centers for AI training.

More internal storage areas

While the number of storage layers remains identical between the QLC and TLC versions, SK Hynix has reorganized the internal structure: The cells are now divided into six memory areas (planes) instead of four. Each area can be written to and read from in parallel, which is intended to improve performance and thus conceal the transfer weaknesses of QLC.

The manufacturer promises a 56 percent improvement in write speed and 18 percent higher read performance compared to its previous QLC modules. Energy efficiency is set to increase by 23 percent.

https://www.heise.de/news/Hochkapazitivie-PC-SSDs-SK-Hynix-stellt-2-Tbit-Speicherchips-mit-321-Lagen-vor-10607466.html

Hello my dears,

the love @yngfinn has asked me how I find shares. I would like to share my answer with you.

@yngfinn

Hello my dear,

as I have enough positions in my portfolio at the moment, I am no longer looking so intensively for new companies. I don't trade and am more long-term oriented.

My approach is quite different.

By sector:

I often look at which sectors and areas are currently on the move. Or what the areas of the future are, such as robotics, defense and aerospace, AI, etc.

But I also look at which sectors and countries in my portfolio are undervalued.

Or also in which sectors I see a need to catch up because they have been driven down unjustifiably. Like the healthcare sector, for example 🍊.

I watch reports and documentaries. Like exploring the oceans and seas. And discovering Kraken Robotic $PNG (-1.17%) and Norbit $NORBT (+2%) .

https://getqu.in/Ey45a0/

After Powel's speech on Friday, for example, it would now make sense to look for real estate and homebuilders. Like Buffet did with his stock Dr. Horten $DHI (+0.3%) .

Unfortunately, the ongoing wars show the importance of drones and drone defense.

But also the increasing importance in agriculture (I have already written a post about this).

https://getqu.in/SdXvMm/

In the end, my choice here was $AVAV (-3.74%) AeroVironment. And the contract manufacturer $KIT (+2.25%) Kitron.

In the future-oriented robotics sector, I don't really want to invest in overvalued stocks such as $TSLA (-3.51%) Tesla or the contract manufacturer $JBL (-3.31%) Jabil. I see Japan as very innovative here. As shown by $7012 (-4.94%) Kawasaki shows. This is how I discovered the blade supplier $6481 (-0.85%) THK (there was a post from me about this).

https://getqu.in/fZudqX/

By country:

When Iran attacked Israel, I took advantage of the dip and picked Israeli stocks.

For example, I discovered Gilat $GILT (-1.84%) for example.

But as a long-term investor, I still see the USA in the lead. I also like to take a look at small and mid caps.

But I also often look at countries that are not quite so much in focus. Scandinavia or Italy.

I have found $LTMC (-1.23%) Lottomatica and $CAMX (-1.8%) Camurus.

I often only look at the companies by momentum from the various indices in these countries.

By company:

I also often look at which companies are currently the stars on the stock market. Like Rheinmetall, for example, but then I don't go into the overvalued shares, but look for suppliers, i.e. blade suppliers. That's how I came across Kitron $KIT (+2.25%) for example. Kitron as a contract manufacturer for the defense sector.

Or when Novo Nordisk was still a star, I discovered the Novo supplier $YPSN (+0.12%) discovered.

Nvidia supplier $HY9H (-0.31%) sk Hynix.

Where is the capex of the companies going?

Based on this question, I came across the AI infrastructure companies $IESC (-3.39%) IES Holding and $VRT (-4.91%) Vertiv.

The weakness of one company makes other companies strong.

The weakness of Boeing makes $AIR (+0.11%) and $ERJ (-0.41%) strong. That's how I came across Embraer and $MTX (+0.13%) MTU.

https://getqu.in/4hiSbt/

Research and reports, such as on coinbase $COIN (-1.42%) (CAUTION never buy based on a story).

https://getqu.in/OIiwhP/

Good company figures with a growth story could also be a reason. As for example with $GILD (-0.13%) Gilead.

https://getqu.in/iF8BDY/

Takeover fantasies:

Takeover rumors usually mean that the share price of the company to be taken over rises.

As was the case with $AWE (+1.43%) Alphawave was the case.

https://getqu.in/1NPNWI/

Or with Iveco $IVG (-0.03%)

https://getqu.in/WJnLFp/

https://getqu.in/VnK4Xk/

CAUTION: Something can always go wrong here and send the share price plummeting.

I experienced this myself with i robot when the UK did not agree to a takeover by Amazon.

No matter in which area. My approach is usually to pick out the momentum stocks. I then look at the multiples, news, order situation and, of course, the company.

Compounders and long-term runners:

In my core, I only invest in quality stocks with a moat.

Here it makes sense not to buy at the ATH, but on the dip.

Multiples:

What is important to me with multiples:

-profitable company, or in the next year

Profitable.

Preferably double-digit profit growth with a falling P/E ratio.

-Percentage profit growth is higher than sales growth.

-good and rising EbiT margin.

-PEG below or around 1

-increasing free cash flow taking into account capex.

My dears,

I hope my brief summary of my approach perhaps offers you a little added value.

Please let me know in the comments.

Suggestions for improvement are also welcome. 😘😘

Today I reduced my semi-ETF by 20% to bring the weighting from 15% to 10%.

No single position has a total weighting (ETF+single stock) above 5%, which is also my threshold. I always want to stay below 5% exposure.

My forward P/E of the portfolio has also fallen to 23, which is below my target of <25, despite the high tech allocation.

This means that my tech sector weighting is now in line with my world ETF $QDEV (-0.93%)which contains around 40-49% tech. I'm happy with that. I'm just still tech-bullish.

I have also reduced the USA region to 63%, almost identical to my world ETF (61%), and thus within my target range of 60-69%.

My favorites in the semi area remain anyway $TSM (-3.24%) and $HY9H (-0.31%) which I bought cheaply and undervalued as individual positions.

$NVDA (-3.22%) is and remains king, but I do not believe that the annual return will remain above 10% in the next few years, for this the market cap would have to grow by 400 billion every year, which I think would be difficult. $AVGO (-3.47%) currently has a P/E 5x greater than forward P/E, which shows that analysts are extremely bullish on future earnings. I am also bullish, but not as strongly, so the stock has already run very hot.

My top 10 holdings with 32% total weighting are currently:

4.95% $TSM (-3.24%) Taiwan Semi

4.65% $NVDA (-3.22%) NVIDIA

4.55% $GOOG (+0.54%) Google

4.47% $AVGO (-3.47%) Broadcom

2.85% $MSFT (-0.64%) Microsoft

2.63% $META (-1.58%) Meta

2.37% $AAPL (-0.09%) Apple

2.04% $ASML (-2.81%) Asml

1.95% $MA (+0.36%) Mastercard

1.91% $JPM (+0.31%) JPMorgan

$AAPL (-0.09%)
$NVDA (-3.22%) . $HY9H (-0.31%)

The US President wants to impose a special tariff on imported semiconductor chips. The measure is likely to be aimed primarily at China.

US President Donald Trump wants to impose a special tariff of around 100 percent on imported semiconductor chips. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday (local time) that the new tariff would apply to all chips and semiconductors coming into the US. However, companies that produce in the United States or at least plan to do so will be exempt from the tariff, Trump added. If companies do not keep their promise to build factories, the tariff will be applied retroactively. However, there was no formal announcement of the tariffs and Trump did not provide any further details.

The measure is likely to be aimed primarily at China. The Taiwanese chip contract manufacturer TSMC would probably be exempt from the tariffs due to its factories in the USA. This would also mean no higher costs for its major customers such as the AI chip group Nvidia. According to a South Korean trade representative, the South Korean chip manufacturer SK Hynix could also not be affected by the special tariff, just like Samsung Electronics. SK Hynix also supplies Nvidia with chips that are used in chipsets for artificial intelligence. The EU, South Korea and Japan have concluded trade agreements with the USA, which could give them an advantage.

Subsidy program for US semiconductor manufacturing

In 2022, the US Congress launched a subsidy program for semiconductor manufacturing and research worth USD 52.7 billion. The aim is to strengthen domestic production. According to the Department of Commerce, the USA produced around twelve percent of the world's semiconductor chips last year. In 1990, the share was still 40 percent. It is not yet entirely clear how many chips from which country will be affected by the new levy. (Reuters)

https://www.diepresse.com/19974881/trump-usa-werden-zoelle-von-100-auf-mikrochip-importe-erheben

$MU (-2.18%)
$HY9H (-0.31%)

Good morning, my dears,

After the good figures for Sk Hynix , it was almost obvious that Micron would follow suit.

I see a favorable valuation and a good outlook for both. There is therefore still potential.

And I remain invested in both.

Micron is exceeding expectations in terms of sales and earnings. The outlook is strong thanks to the AI boom. Nevertheless, the share gave back some of its gains after the close of trading. What's going on? US chip manufacturer Micron exceeded analysts' expectations in the third quarter in terms of both turnover and profit. The company also provided an optimistic outlook, which is supported by the ongoing boom in artificial intelligence (AI). Nevertheless, the share was unable to maintain its initial gains after the close of trading. Specifically, Micron achieved adjusted earnings per share of USD 1.91, while only USD 1.60 was expected.

Full article

https://www.wallstreet-online.de/nachricht/19514993-chipriese-micron-ueberrascht-baerenstarken-zahlen-aktie-verhalten

$HY9H (-0.31%)

Hello my dears,

I remain invested.

SK hynix, the world's leading manufacturer of memory chips, is reviewing plans to build a new back-end production facility to strengthen its packaging capabilities in the face of rising demand for advanced chips.

According to industry sources, the memory chip maker announced on Tuesday via its internal bulletin board that it will build the new factory, named "P&T 7", on a site in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The company has begun demolishing a former LG factory that it had previously acquired on the site for the new building. The work should be completed by September.

"The role of back-end processes in memory semiconductors is becoming increasingly important as they add significant value beyond traditional manufacturing," said an SK-Hynix official. "The company is committed to improving its packaging technology."

In Korea, SK hynix currently has six P&T buildings in Icheon and Cheongju, which are its back-end production facilities.

The construction schedule for the seventh building has not yet been finalized. However, it is planned that the site will serve not only as a packaging facility for end products, but also as a test factory.

The back-end process in chip manufacturing refers to the final stages of chip production where individual chips are cut from the wafer, tested and packaged into finished products.

As performance increases through semiconductor scaling reach their physical limits, advanced packaging technologies are gaining importance as a new way to improve performance and energy efficiency.

herim@heraldcorp.com

https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10516616

SK Hynix's market capitalization exceeds 200 trillion won for the first time due to optimistic chip demand

https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20250624005000320

$MU (-2.18%)
$HY9H (-0.31%)

As a Micron shareholder, you have experienced a sharp rise and fall over the past few months. Since April, however, the share price has shot up again, rewarding investors' patience. The management is causing a stir today with the announcement of massive US investments.

Micron goes one better! The already ambitious investment plans in the USA in the coming years are being increased once again, by USD 30 billion.

This brings the memory chip manufacturer's planned investments in the USA to a total of USD 200 billion. USD 150 billion is to flow into domestic memory production and USD 50 billion is to be spent on research and development. This is expected to create around 90,000 direct and indirect jobs in the USA. 🍊US President Donald Trump will be pleased to hear this.

Second plant planned in Idaho

The additional investment of USD 30 billion will include the construction of a second state-of-the-art storage plant in Boise, Idaho, the expansion and modernization of the existing plant in Manassas, Virginia and the development of advanced packaging technology for HBM solutions, which are essential for the AI market.

In total, the following items are planned as part of the USD 200 billion investment package:

Two modern high-volume plants in Idaho

Up to four such plants in New York

Modernization of the Virginia plant

Development of advanced HBM packaging capabilities

Strong R&D activities to promote American innovation

In the future, Micron would localize 40% of its DRAM production in the US.

The goal of strengthening production at home or bringing it back to the country is precisely what 🍊US President Donald Trump had set out.

The voices of politicians and key representatives of the AI and chip industry are therefore coming thick and fast:

Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO, Micron: "This USD 200 billion will strengthen America's technological leadership and create tens of thousands of jobs."

Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce: "Full memory chip production is returning to the US."

Satya Nadella, Microsoft: "An important step for innovation and competitiveness."

Jensen Huang, Nvidia: "Essential for next AI breakthroughs."

Tim Cook, Apple: "A great example of American manufacturing."

Michael Dell, Dell: "Ensures scalable storage solutions for progress."

Matt Garman, AWS: "A significant milestone for the industry."

Dr. Lisa Su, AMD: "Strengthens the supply chain at a critical time."

Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm: "Ensures innovation and resilience."

@BamBamInvest : "This is the way"

Micron share in rocket mode

Interesting for investors: With Micron, investors are also playing the AI trend, as Micron is one of three suppliers that provide HBM. This stands for High Bandwidth Memory, a new type of memory specially developed for GPUs. Competitors are SK Hynix and Samsung. However, Samsung in particular has major problems with HBM, which is why SK Hynix and Micron are currently ahead in the race.

Analysts expect that Micron will be able to increase its turnover to USD 45 billion and earnings per share by almost 60% to USD 11 in the 2025/26 financial year, which starts soon, despite massive investments. The current P/E ratios for the stock are 16 and 10.

From a technical point of view, buyers will not be able to continue at the resistance level of USD 114.80; the chip stock is also massively overbought. Consolidations towards the USD 100 mark could offer entry opportunities.

Conclusion: The Micron share has more than run hot and is in need of consolidation. In the course of the current cycle, however, my speculation is that the stock will reach new all-time highs. Stronger setbacks offer entry opportunities.

https://stock3.com/news/micron-mega-investitionen-in-den-usa-aktie-erreicht-zentrale-charthuerde-16439983

$HY9H (-0.31%)
$MU (-2.18%)

According to market researchers, SK Hynix has replaced Samsung as the largest DRAM manufacturer for the first time. This marks the end of Samsung's 33-year market leadership. The overtaking maneuver was made possible by the sales advantage in the coveted High Bandwidth Memory (HBM).

Since 1992, Samsung had led the global DRAM manufacturers, according to unanimous reports in the Asian media. And now it is the big competitor from the same country that is overtaking the manufacturer from South Korea. At least according to a study by market researchers at Counterpoint, which gives SK Hynix a market share of 36% of sales in the first quarter of 2025 and Samsung a market share of just 34%. Micron ranks third in this statistic with 25 percent, while the remaining 5 percent is distributed among smaller manufacturers that are not named separately.

The fact that SK Hynix was able to take the lead is attributed to a DRAM product that has enjoyed extremely high demand in recent years due to the AI boom: High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), which consists of stacked DRAM dies and is used as fast working memory on GPU-based AI accelerator cards such as Nvidia's GB200 or AMD's MI325X.

According to Business Korea, SK Hynix currently holds around 70 percent of the HBM market, which is also served by Micron (since recently) and Samsung.

Huge loss of share at Samsung

If we take the market shares calculated by TrendForce for the fourth quarter of 2024 as a benchmark, however, it is not a major gain for SK Hynix, but rather a huge drop in share from the market leader that gives SK Hynix the throne. According to TrendForce, Samsung was still at 39.3 percent at the end of last year, meaning it would now have lost a good 5 percentage points. SK Hynix was already at 36.6 percent in those statistics, so would now have lost even slightly. Micron, on the other hand, would have increased significantly from 22.4 percent to 25 percent.

The sleeping giant from China awakens

However, the biggest growth would have been among the remaining manufacturers: TrendForce cited just a total of 1.6 percent market share for the small manufacturers after Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron for the fourth quarter of 2024. However, Counterpoint now speaks of 5 percent for the "others", which would have significantly increased their share.

The extent to which the studies are comparable will become clear when TrendForce presents new figures, which may or may not confirm SK Hynix as the market leader.

However, it is also clear that there is a secret winner that is responsible for the significant growth among the small manufacturers: Chinese newcomer ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) has massively increased its production capacities. There has been talk in some quarters of an increase from 70,000 wafers per month in 2022 to 200,000 wafers per month in 2024.

Chinese media even predicted a market share of up to 15% for CXMT in 2025 if the company conquers the market with the latest DDR5 and LPDDR5. TrendForce assumes a share of at least 10 percent. CXMT is therefore already likely to be the new number four among DRAM manufacturers, overtaking competitors such as Nanya and Winbond.

https://www.computerbase.de/news/arbeitsspeicher/groesster-dram-hersteller-sk-hynix-stoesst-samsung-nach-33-jahren-erstmals-vom-thron.92155/

$HY9H (-0.31%)

The Korean memory chip manufacturer SK Hynix achieved a new profit record in the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, the share price is falling because an uncertain outlook for 2025 is causing uncertainty. The details.

Sales in the fourth quarter rose by 75 percent year-on-year to 19.77 trillion won (13.3 billion euros). Operating profit rose by 2,236 percent to 8.08 trillion won (5.4 billion euros). SK Hynix thus exceeded the expectations of analysts, who had expected an operating profit of 8.02 trillion won.

The strong performance is due to the rising demand for AI servers and the increasing use of generative AI models. As a key supplier to US chip designer Nvidia, SK Hynix was able to benefit from this boom. "Thanks to our world-leading HBM [High Bandwidth Memory] technology and a strategy focused on profitability, we have reached an all-time high," the company explained.

Uncertainty for 2025 weighs heavily

Despite the record results, CFO Kim Woohyun warned of potential challenges. An adjustment of inventories at PC and smartphone manufacturers, geopolitical tensions and protectionist trade policies could affect demand in 2025. This has caused concern among investors about a possible market downturn.

At the same time, SK Hynix remains optimistic about the long-term growth potential. According to forecasts, DRAM demand will grow in the mid to high double-digit percentage range in 2025, while NAND chips could achieve a single-digit growth rate.

The share lost almost six percent at times on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Thursday morning and is currently trading at 148 euros (as at 23.01, 10:00 a.m.).

New market for memory chips

"The memory chip industry is changing from a volume- and price-driven mass market to a quality-oriented specialty market," explained a company spokesperson. This shift towards high-performance, customized products could secure stable margins in the long term.

SK Hynix's share price has risen by 29 percent since the beginning of the year. Analysts such as SK Kim from Daiwa Capital Markets emphasize that the company will maintain its leading role in the HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) segment despite possible market corrections.

https://www.wallstreet-online.de/nachricht/18922101-nvidia-zulieferer-ki-boom-sk-hynix-erzielt-rekordgewinne-aktie-sinkt

Today, my overweighting of the semiconductor sector is once again falling flat on its face.

Which stocks would you sell and why? Or would you stick with it everywhere?

$NVDA (-3.22%)
$HY9H (-0.31%) . $QCOM (+0.38%) . $MU (-2.18%)
$ASML (-2.81%)
$8035 (-3.37%)