KB Securities warns Samsung, SK Hynix memory inventory below 10 days

KB Securities warned that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have seen their memory semiconductor inventories fall to less than 10 days of supply, with available supply expected to be significantly insufficient next year. The firm said in a Monday report that AI infrastructure investment is expanding at an unprecedented pace, leading to a severe memory chip supply shortage. A key factor is the transition to HBM4, which requires roughly three times the wafers of traditional DRAM, and limited wafer capacity will reduce available traditional DRAM output. KB Securities forecasts that DRAM and NAND demand will exceed supply by more than 10 percentage points next year. Research head Kim Dong-won said AI servers will consume HBM, server DDR5, and enterprise SSDs, potentially causing a historic shortage. Global hyperscale data center operators have raised their AI infrastructure investment forecast for next year to $1.3 trillion, up 60% year over year. The firm expects memory semiconductors to account for 57% of total AI infrastructure investment next year, up from 14% last year, while TrendForce estimates the share could reach as high as 68%. Samsung Electronics shares have fallen nearly 28% from their peak, and SK Hynix shares are down nearly 40%.