Source Fact: IBK Investment & Securities / Report Date: July 2, 2026
Investment Opinion & Target Price: BUY (Maintain) / 4,000,000 KRW (Upgraded)
Key Momentum: A projected 11 consecutive quarters of earnings surprises driven by exponential token consumption growth in the Agent AI market, alongside skyrocketing demand for HBM and NAND.
📊 1. [Valuation Indicators and Investment Metrics Analysis]
- Target Price Rationale: Reflecting a 12-month forward EPS of KRW 411,419 and applying a PER of 10x, the target price has been significantly upgraded from the previous KRW 1,800,000 to KRW 4,000,000. It is analyzed that further valuation rerating is highly possible as the market shifts its perspective from a cyclical industry to a structurally stable growth industry.
- Financial Metrics & Valuation Trends (Unit: KRW):
- 2024 (Actual): Revenue KRW 66.19T / Operating Profit KRW 23.46T (Operating Margin 35.5%) | PER 6.4x / PBR 1.7x / EV/EBITDA 3.8x
- 2025 (Actual): Revenue KRW 97.14T / Operating Profit KRW 47.20T (Operating Margin 48.6%) | PER 11.0x / PBR 3.9x / EV/EBITDA 7.7x
- 2026F (Forecast): Revenue KRW 337.95T / Operating Profit KRW 259.29T (Operating Margin 76.7%) | PER 8.0x / PBR 5.3x / EV/EBITDA 6.3x
- 2027F (Forecast): Revenue KRW 493.65T / Operating Profit KRW 377.85T (Operating Margin 76.5%) | PER 5.7x / PBR 2.8x / EV/EBITDA 3.7x
- 2028F (Forecast): Revenue KRW 644.35T / Operating Profit KRW 498.61T (Operating Margin 77.4%) | PER 4.4x / PBR 1.7x / EV/EBITDA 2.1x
🚀 2. [Market Opportunity (TAM) and Detailed Earnings Estimates]
- Agent AI Ecosystem Expansion and Memory Demand Drivers:
- Exponential Token Growth: Agent AI models require roughly 10,000 times more tokens compared to conventional Generative AI. The global token volume is expanding explosively, surpassing 30 billion tokens within just 10 seconds.
- Booming Demand for CPU & DRAM: Because Agent AI relies heavily on high CPU usage compared to standard Inference AI, it naturally triggers massive accompanied demand for high-performance DRAM.
- NAND Turnaround Driven by KV Cache: The skyrocketing demand for KV Cache memory to support high-speed processing acts as a powerful driver expanding NAND market demand, which was previously lagging.
- Short-term Quarterly Outlook & Growth Rates:
- Q2 2026 Projections: Revenue is expected to hit KRW 78.96T (up 50.2% QoQ), and Operating Profit is projected to reach KRW 61.00T (up 62.3% QoQ).
- Consecutive Earnings Surprises: Beginning from Q4 2023 when HBM supply began expanding, the company is forecasted to stretch its streak to 11 consecutive quarters of beating market consensus by Q2 2026.
📝 Editor Comment (by K-STOCK Editor)
The legacy view of treating the memory semiconductor industry as a mere cyclical ticker is officially outdated. The reality of AI investment validated through NVIDIA GTC and COMPUTEX is not a short-lived seasonal cycle but a fundamental paradigm shift. Particularly, the transition into ‘Agent AI’ expands the baseline requirement of hardware infrastructure by ten-thousandfold. Considering that the forward PER for 2026 remains in the single digits (8.0x), market valuations may still be grossly underestimating the sheer earnings power of the company despite recent steep price run-ups. With the steady fortress of DRAM coupled with the structural re-rating of NAND via KV Cache demand, market participants should digest the depth of this structural fundamental shift rather than focusing solely on absolute stock price levels.
📢 Disclaimer & Sources Source: This content was structurally reconstructed based on official financial facts and figures extracted from publicly available securities research reports.
Investment Risk Warning: This material is provided for informational and linguistic reference purposes only. Under no circumstances does it constitute financial advice, or a solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell any specific securities. All investment decisions and financial responsibilities rest solely with the individual investor.
Inquiries: For compliance queries or copyright requests, please reach out to ksb220805@gmail.com.
🔥 Bulls vs Bears, drop your analysis in the comments!
