Samsung Electro-Mechanics Rides AI Boom With Over 40% of AI-Server MLCC Market

* Editor's note: AI PRISM (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an artificial intelligence-based personalized news recommendation and summary service developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and delivers six tailored news items for each reader type.

1. Samsung Electro-Mechanics Wins Six AI MLCC Deals This Year, Nearing 4 Trillion Won

Key summary: Samsung Electro-Mechanics landed its sixth contract this year, an additional 290 billion won deal to supply MLCCs for AI servers to a large global company, lifting cumulative orders to about 3.9 trillion won. With as many as 600,000 MLCCs mounted in a single Nvidia Blackwell server rack, AI servers carry 10 times more than conventional servers, leaving that much more room for demand to expand. Goldman Sachs forecast that the AI server MLCC market will grow to $5.8 billion (about 7.8 trillion won) by 2030, more than four times the level of last year, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics holds a share of more than 40% of that market. Given smaller contracts that fall below the disclosure threshold of 282.9 billion won, some analysts say the actual order volume may be far larger than what has been made public.

2. KOSDAQ Tops 900 for First Time in Three Months as Back-End Stocks Soar 54.86%

Key summary: The KOSDAQ index rose 2.98% from the previous session to 919.92, reclaiming the 900 mark for the first time since July 1, and has risen in 11 of 13 trading sessions for a 14.02% gain over that period. Amid a spillover from large-cap semiconductor shares to materials, parts and equipment makers, seven back-end stocks posted an average gain of 54.86%, including SFA Semicon (100.17%), Hanyang Digitech (79.51%), Doosan Tesna (53.06%) and Hana Micron (51.07%). Foreign investors and institutions bought a net 111 billion won and 101.9 billion won, respectively, and average daily trading value jumped to 8.798 trillion won in October from 5.9868 trillion won in August, making the improvement in supply and demand clear. Still, analysts note that in a high-rate environment funds are likely to concentrate on stocks with confirmed profit growth, making earnings verification the key to whether the rally continues.

3. Yields and Nasdaq Hit Records Together as AI Rewrites the Investment Playbook

Key summary: On the same day the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield jumped to 5.347%, its highest in 24 years since 2002, the Nasdaq set a record high of 27,477.31, producing an unusual tandem run of high rates and strong stocks. That contrasts with October 2023, when Treasury yields topped 5% and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq corrected more than 10% while the KOSPI plunged 5.7%. Market analysts say expectations for growth and profit gains driven by AI investment underpin the rally despite high rates. Some say that if earnings at AI and semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix meet expectations, that could become a platform for further gains.

4. National Pension Service Takes Profits on Chip Suppliers in Q3, Expands Construction and Insurance

Key summary: The National Pension Service (NPS) reduced stakes in semiconductor materials, parts and equipment makers and brokerages while expanding holdings in construction and insurance shares during the third quarter, according to 118 large-shareholding disclosures. The FnGuide AI semiconductor materials, parts and equipment index plunged 39.94% in July before rebounding 19.71% and 16.72% in August and September, respectively, and the fund took profits on suppliers such as BH (down 3.2 percentage points) and LG Innotek (down 3.1 percentage points). By contrast, GS E&C, whose shares rose 35.3% in the third quarter on AI data center and nuclear plant orders and policies to expand housing supply, saw the fund's stake jump 4.43 percentage points to 12.25% from 7.82%, while stakes in DL E&C and HDC Hyundai Development also increased. Insurance stocks were added as well on expectations for better bond investment returns from rising rates, with Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance going to 11.71% from 9.42% and DB Insurance to 9.36% from 8.33%.

5. More Than 764 Companies File Value-Up Plans Ahead of Low-PBR List

Key summary: With the Korea Exchange (KRX) set to publish its first list of low price-to-book ratio (PBR) companies on the 2nd of next month, the number of listed firms that have disclosed value-up plans has reached a cumulative 764, including 358 on the KOSPI and 406 on the KOSDAQ. Analysts say the rule that publication of the list is deferred for one year for companies filing disclosures containing PBR improvement plans by the 22nd of this month is drawing greater participation. Shareholder return moves are also spreading, with KT&G deciding to buy back and cancel 360 billion won worth of its own shares. The Korea Value-up Index has risen 79.6% from the start of the year, outperforming the KOSPI's 62.3% gain by 17.3 percentage points.

6. Security Stocks Surge on Financial Sector AI Hacking Case, Several Hit Daily Limit

Key summary: Cybersecurity exchange-traded funds and related stocks rallied together after an AI hacking incident in the financial sector, with the TIGER Global AI Cybersecurity ETF returning 15.04% over the past month. AhnLab and Genians surged 15.58% and 20.83%, respectively, to set new highs for the year, while Raonsecure jumped 29.98% to close at its daily upper limit. Brokerages expect interest in security stocks to continue for some time as moves to rebuild "zero trust" security frameworks spread and fourth-quarter peak-season effects take hold. The possibility of expanded cybersecurity measures in the public sector is also cited as a factor raising expectations for additional gains.