Global Storage and Semiconductor Sectors See Turmoil: Shortage Drives Price Hikes, SK Hynix Shines with Promising Outlook
Recently, the global storage and semiconductor industries have witnessed significant shifts in supply and demand, triggering a wave of product price increases. Amid this landscape, leading enterprises have shown mixed performances, with SK Hynix standing out due to its technological advantages and market layout. Not only has it delivered outstanding results currently, but its future development is also widely optimistic.
In the storage market, the supply – demand imbalance has intensified, making price adjustments the new normal. Western Digital announced a price hike for its entire range of hard disk products, becoming the third major storage company to adjust prices. It stated that the high demand for hard disks of all capacities and investment in technological research and development are the main reasons for the price increase. Meanwhile, due to the increased use of sea freight for transportation, the delivery time will be extended by 6 to 10 weeks. In addition, the growing demand from AI data centers has led to a shortage of QLC NAND Flash, resulting in a global shortage of eSSDs. Major CSP manufacturers such as Microsoft and Google are actively negotiating purchases, and the trend of eSSDs replacing HDDs is gradually taking shape by 2026. SanDisk and Western Digital have also followed suit by raising the prices of NAND products.
In the semiconductor sector, SK Hynix has recently delivered an exceptional performance. In terms of stock price, it has risen for 11 consecutive trading days, exceeding 340,000 won. In terms of performance and tax payment, in the first half of this year, it ranked first in South Korea with an operating profit of 16.6 trillion won and paid more than 2.7 trillion won in corporate taxes, setting a record for the highest tax payment by a South Korean enterprise. Its tax payment last year also reached 3.6 trillion won. In terms of market share, in the second quarter, its global DRAM market share reached 39.5%, firmly securing the top position. It also made a strong contribution to the record – high semiconductor export volume of South Korea in the first half of the year.
Looking ahead, SK Hynix has a broad development prospect. In the core HBM field, as AI technology continues to iterate, the demand for AI servers will keep increasing. As a leader in the HBM market, its technological advantages are expected to be further transformed into market share and profit growth. At the same time, the trend of explosive demand for eSSDs is clear, and the company’s layout in this field will help it seize market opportunities. Furthermore, the overall competitiveness of South Korea’s semiconductor industry is strong, and policy and industrial chain support provide a favorable development environment for SK Hynix. Combined with the company’s long – term commitment to technological research and development and production capacity planning, it is expected to continue leading in the global semiconductor competition and further consolidate its industry position.