As the memory chip industry enters a "super cycle," the upcoming earnings reports from South Korea's two memory chip titans—SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics—are expected to demonstrate robust momentum capable of driving up the South Korean stock market and the broader semiconductor sector. SK Hynix is scheduled to announce its fiscal 2025 fourth-quarter and full-year results on January 29. The market currently anticipates SK Hynix's Q4 revenue to reach 30.70 trillion won, with operating profit projected at 16.18 trillion won. Full-year revenue is forecast at 95.21 trillion won, and operating profit is estimated at 44.23 trillion won, all setting new quarterly and annual records. Strong memory chip demand and higher selling prices are expected to solidify SK Hynix's profit growth trajectory. KB Securities analysis indicates that the DRAM business was the primary driver of SK Hynix's Q4 performance last year. Notably, SK Hynix approved a 19 trillion won investment plan last week to build a factory in South Korea dedicated to advanced HBM packaging and testing, expected to be completed by the end of 2027. The company also plans to open a new chip plant in Yongin, South Korea, in February 2027, three months ahead of schedule. Furthermore, SK Hynix disclosed in a regulatory filing last December that it is considering a listing on the U.S. stock market.

On the same day SK Hynix reports its Q4 earnings, the other memory chip giant, Samsung Electronics, will also announce its results. Preliminary figures released by Samsung earlier this month showed a Q4 operating profit of 20 trillion won (approximately $138 billion), a staggering 208% year-over-year increase that surpassed analysts' average expectations. Revenue grew 23% to 93 trillion won, also hitting a record high. Analysis points out that Samsung's preliminary Q4 2025 operating profit margin reached 21.5%, indicating the company is benefiting from robust demand for traditional DRAM, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and NAND flash chips. DRAM's operating margin likely exceeded 50% in the fourth quarter and is expected to improve further in Q1 2026; traditional DRAM contributed significantly to Samsung's revenue. Its leading position in the global NAND flash market is also expected to support profit growth in 2026.

Amid the AI infrastructure boom fueling explosive demand for memory chips, both SK Hynix and Samsung have seen their stock prices surge over the past year, helping drive a historic breakthrough for the South Korean stock market. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) briefly surpassed the 5,000-point mark on Thursday, a significant milestone that reinforces President Lee Jae-myung's commitment to addressing long-standing corporate governance issues that have weighed on valuations. The index has soared more than 95% over the past 12 months, becoming the world's best-performing major benchmark. If the current earnings expectations for SK Hynix and Samsung are met upon the official reports, confidence in the memory sector's sustained high growth could spread the rally to the broader semiconductor industry and help maintain the upward momentum of South Korean stocks.

Eun-Bo Jeong, CEO of the Korea Exchange, previously stated that as South Korea continues reforms aimed at enhancing shareholder returns and attracting global capital, the nation's world-leading stock market rally is likely to continue. Speaking about the Kospi index in an interview last Friday, Jeong remarked, "The Kospi is approaching 5,000 points, but I believe even 6,000 points is possible beyond that." While he did not provide a specific timeline for reaching 6,000, he added, "The improving competitiveness of South Korea's core industries like semiconductors, defense, and shipbuilding appears to be leading a new wave of value appreciation in the stock market." Kang Dae-kwun, Chief Investment Officer at Seoul's Life Asset Management, predicts the Kospi could hit 6,000 within two months. He stated, "This is just the beginning. The Kospi hasn't undergone a valuation re-rating yet; this is just normalization. I don't think 5,000 is an excessively high level."