Samsung's HBM Share Jumps to 33%…KOSDAQ Surges Over 4%
Samsung Electronics' HBM (high bandwidth memory, a next-generation memory that rapidly transfers data for high-performance semiconductors) revenue share rose to 33% in the second quarter of this year, and buoyed by strong semiconductor exports, the KOSDAQ index closed with a surge of over 4%.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, September semiconductor exports soared 262.8% year-on-year to $60.3 billion, surpassing the $60 billion mark for the first time on record, while total exports also climbed 83.5% to $120.94 billion. Semiconductors accounted for 49.9% of total exports, nearly half. Memory semiconductor exports skyrocketed 358.6%, from $11.79 billion in September last year to $54.07 billion this September. The price of DDR5 16Gb rose from $37.50 in May to $48 in September, and 128Gb NAND flash also climbed from $26.50 to $30.60 over the same period, with both volume and prices lifting earnings. The trade surplus also reached $49.85 billion, breaking through the $40 billion mark for the first time ever.
Micron said it has completed contracting most of its HBM bit supply for next year at prices higher than this year's. Market research firm TrendForce forecast that the average selling price (ASP) of HBM will rise 121% next year from this year, and that the price per stack of 12-layer 36GB HBM4 will climb from about $600 this year to around $1,300 next year.
Micron's fiscal Q4 2026 revenue hit a record quarterly high of $54.23 billion. Surging HBM demand from AI data center expansion was the key driver, with data center revenue jumping more than elevenfold from $1.577 billion a year earlier to $18 billion. The company guided next-quarter revenue to $61.5 billion, beating the market consensus of $57 billion.
Against this backdrop, the domestic stock market rallied across the board. The KOSPI closed up 1.95% at 6,971.35, edging within reach of the 7,000 level, while the KOSDAQ surged 4.48% to 894.29, marking its fifth consecutive session of gains.
The government's plan to strengthen research report coverage also contributed to the KOSDAQ rally. The government mandated that nine comprehensive financial investment firms allocate at least 25% of their annual reports to small- and mid-cap stocks and devote more than half of coverage to KOSDAQ-listed companies. The KOSDAQ rose in 10 of the last 11 trading sessions, posting a cumulative gain of 10.8% over the period — more than double the KOSPI's gain (4.3%) over the same span.
