Report by Andrew Hunt Economics

Despite the AI boom, the KRW has been weak this year as the KIC has been funding a significant part of the US AI blowout, yet many point to foreign equities as the reason despite modest flows. Many of the issued government bonds were snapped up by foreign investors, but Andrew suspects many of these may in fact be offshore subsidiaries of Samsung et al. This would explain why, despite the boom in chip revenues, the corporate sector has not seen a significant increase in its cash holdings. With the KRW now very weak, domestic inflation rising, and sentiment towards the AI theme having “a moment”, Andrew Hunt suspects that the KIC will slow its financing activities, cutting funding to the US AI complex just as a wall of paper is scheduled to arrive.

Report by Aitken Advisors

James Aitken believes that society remains in the foothills of our collective AI journey. As powerful as it has been, as many questions as we have about return on capital employed, it seems to him that the AI juggernaut is accelerating. James isn’t trying to take advantage by catching the Dell, Micron, SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics or related AI pianos. (Although he points out that if Jensen Huang builds out his desired ecosystem, Nvidia is not that expensive). What he’d like to buy during this turbulence is more Shell, then BHP, RIO, Glencore and Tivan. In other words, more of the ‘picks and shovels’ winners of the AI boom and winners of national resilience agenda with dependable management, and excellent execution. That includes Bloom Energy, too, which James believes will soon jump from small to megacap, missing out midcap.

Industrials

Report by Sustainable Market Strategies

Battery technology is at a commercial inflection point with the economics now favouring electrification over fossil fuels across an expanding range of applications, a trend accelerated by higher energy prices from the Iran conflict. China continues to dominate the supply chain, with CATL alone controlling ~39% of the global EV battery market and leading in grid-scale storage deployments, but Korean manufacturers offer accessible, liquid alternatives with deep ties to Western automakers and compelling technology road maps of their own. Given the geopolitical and technology risks, investors should build a basket of stocks: CATL for multi-chemistry platform execution at reasonable multiples; LG Energy Solution for contracted backlog and near-term profitability; Samsung SDI for solid-state battery optionality; and Amprius as a higher-risk tech position. BYD is also highlighted as a play on growing EV demand.

Technology

Report by Arete Research

The memory cycle is being misread as cyclical rather than structural, with no near-term earnings peak as AI drives sustained demand. Capacity cannibalisation from HBM and SOCAMM is expected to constrain DRAM supply into 2028, with NAND also remaining tight, while LTAs could see future output effectively prepaid - reducing downside risk and reinforcing earnings durability. Yet valuations remain anchored to legacy frameworks, underestimating pricing power and cash generation, with net cash potentially >50% of m/cap by FY27 for players like SK Hynix and Kioxia. Within memory, Arete sees NAND fundamentals as more compelling than DRAM in the near term. They also upgrade Samsung to Buy, with a continued beat-and-raise cycle expected in coming quarters.

Technology

Report by Summit Insights Group

Time to take profits - KinNgai Chan downgrades MU to Hold, expecting recent outperformance to moderate into 2H26 and 2027. While memory demand-supply dynamics and pricing remain favourable through 1H26, he sees price increases decelerating meaningfully into the second half as the current imbalance begins to ease. Despite continued strength in AI server demand, broader end markets are expected to soften, with PC and smartphone TAM contracting under the weight of higher memory prices. In addition, Samsung’s potential entry into Nvidia’s HBM supply chain is seen as a further negative catalyst.

Report by Radio Free Mobile

sees the real story of GTC being the business model of compute. As AI rolls out, capacity demand is moving rapidly towards inference, and Richard would not be surprised to see it end up at 90% of the total market for AI infrastructure. He has long argued that the business case for compute is broken. NVIDIA Corp is claiming they can fix this with its new chips, increasing the revenue per GW by 5x. If true, it would change the economics of compute, and the company stands to improve the economics of AI computing more than anyone else. The fact that the market didn’t understand what Nvidia is trying to say means that it will continue to worry about longer-term growth, and the shares may continue to drift, possibly representing an opportunity to invest in the best AI company at an increasingly attractive valuation. Richard continues to hold Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Qualcomm Inc for AI, Ouster Inc for robotics, and nuclear power.

Report by Emerging Advisors Group

Jonathan Anderson observes that Korean equities shot up another 50% in the first two months, making Korea the best-performing market on the planet in 2026 so far. He notes that this is heavily due to the AI boom and Samsung, but "domestic Korea" has continued to rally this year as well. However, there's still no support from domestic macro. As before, Korea's economy is flatlining or contracting almost everywhere he looks: durables, construction, retail, credit, earnings. And while exports are rebounding, memory prices still haven't been able to bring Korea back to the EM-wide average trend. Jonathan says it will be hard to motivate further gains in local names. Equity multiples have already eliminated the famed "Korea discount" and continue to rise at the margin, i.e., corporate reforms have already been priced in well in advance of actual results - and there's no sign that the rally is boosting earnings and growth potential as of yet.

Technology

Report by JNK Research

Contrary to Street expectations, JNK supply chain research indicates AMBA's near-term strength masks structural headwinds. Book-to-bill remains above 1.0x, channel inventory is lean and pricing is stable. However, the underlying trajectory is weaker: FY27 revenue is tracking roughly flat Y/Y, reflecting rising customer and geographic concentration risk. Two customers account for more than one-third of China revenue, while Qualcomm design activity is increasing across AMBA accounts. In addition, Samsung remains AMBA's only foundry partner for leading-edge 3nm and 5nm nodes; whereas competitors source from multiple fabs. Limited consumer exposure further constrains diversification. Recent order strength does not mitigate the single-foundry dependency or competitive encroachment now visible in JNK's tracker data.

Technology

Report by Radio Free Mobile

An excellent Q4 has effectively completed the turnaround in Samsung’s shares, shifting the debate from recovery to how long to stay invested. The company has done exactly as Richard Windsor expected - abandoning HBM3 and focusing entirely on HBM4 - and he is now virtually certain that Samsung will be announced as having qualified for Nvidia and will return to being a major supplier in 2H26. With global HBM capacity constrained through at least 2026 and likely 2027, Samsung, alongside SK Hynix and Micron, will sell everything they can produce at attractive pricing for a while yet. Richard suspects that forecasts will increase again when the company reports its results in detail later this month. While he is starting to think about exiting his position in the stock, the valuation remains fairly unchallenging compared to the peer group.

Technology

Report by JNK Research

JNK Supply Chain Research reveals AAPL's iPhone memory costs have doubled as a share of BOM - from 5% to 10% - driven by structural HBM reallocation, not cyclical shortage. iPhone 17 Pro Max memory runs $41-$43 per unit vs. $22 in iPhone 15 Pro Max. Across 225m annual shipments, that is $4bn in incremental cost AAPL absorbs through margin compression, not price increases. HBM production for AI accelerators consumes 3x normal wafer capacity. SK Hynix and Samsung control 95% of DRAM supply with all capacity sold through 2026. AAPL negotiates from a position of weakness and there will no relief until late 2027 when new NAND lines come online. For timing of the resulting GM impact, contact us below. AAPL and other smartphone makers are covered in JNK's Consumer Tracker.

Technology

Report by Yuka Marosek

TD trades at levels implying investors value its operating business at near zero, reflecting deep scepticism about growth and profitability amid dependence on Samsung and exposure to memory price volatility. While these risks are real, Yuka Marosek argues they are already priced in and TD’s close ties to Samsung Japan and Toyota Tsusho provide stability and long-term relevance. Expansion into automotive and server / storage markets, supported by rising AI-driven demand for memory, offers potential for improved margins and diversification. Toyota Tsusho owns 50.1% of TD and Yuka wonders if Tsusho might eventually absorb the entire company - if Samsung allows it.

Report by Radio Free Mobile

The last week has seen AI sceptics jumping up and down about a coming crash, but Richard Windsor sees them citing data that is misleading. One reason was the MIT study, which claimed that 95% of AI projects failed to yield benefits, but the report also said that great benefits can come when such projects are implemented correctly. So, the sceptics may be wrong, but not nearly as wrong as those who believe superintelligent machines are soon to be among us. Richard sees the idea of $200bn/yr in revenue for OpenAI by 2030 as preposterous, and sees a correction coming, but it won’t be a crash on the scale as the AI sceptics claim. Hyper valued companies burning through money will get into real trouble, but the picks and shovels like Nvidia, Nebius, Micron, SK Hynix, Samsung and Qualcomm and so on are likely to continue to do well. Richard continues to hold the latter two.

Technology

Report by Arete Research

Despite a solid Q3 beat and raise, MU shares fell on misplaced concerns over HBM oversupply. Arete sees strong FY26 growth, with HBM projected to reach ~40% of DRAM sales by late 2026, reinforcing MU’s status as an essential yet still undervalued AI stock. Nvidia continues to request additional HBM and potential resumption of H20E (with HBM3E-8Hi) sales could act as a catalyst for further global supply tightening. MU must demonstrate HBM4 competitiveness (16-layer stacking capability) within 6-8 months to ease investor concerns. Arete also expects MU to gain eSSD market share at the expense of Samsung and SK Hynix. A combination of stable traditional DRAM pricing and rising HBM mix to drive a 63% Y/Y rise in FY26 EPS to $12.78. TP increased to $150 (35% upside).

Report by Sustainable Market Strategies

As the global economy stands at an inflection point, South Korea potentially stands to emerge as a relative winner from deglobalisation. First, Korean firms dominate the global battery supply chain outside of China, with long-term optimism is growing in the industry. Second, South Korea is also an underappreciated nuclear powerhouse, and is now leveraging trade realignments to its advantage, with plenty of room for firms to export their expertise to other markets. Third, Korean firms have quietly become world leaders in desalinisation and water purification tech and are winning contracts that would have otherwise gone to China. For sustainability-minded investors, Korea offers a unique sweet spot: exposure to critical green technologies without the geopolitical baggage of China at reasonable valuations relative to US or European pure-plays in these areas. Their top picks are Samsung E&A, Doosan Enerbility and LG Energy Solution.

Technology

Report by Crystal Shore Alpha

2024 was a banner year for mega-cap US Tech companies, with Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta rising a collective +64%. Were it not for Samsung Electronics crashing -41%, Asia’s mega-cap Tech companies (TSMC, Tencent, Samsung, Alibaba and Meituan) would have almost matched their US peers: +61% collective return (USD) without Samsung but +40% with Samsung. The good news: rolling into 2025, Crystal Shore has a positive risk rating on all 5 Asian Tech companies. Even Samsung.

Report by Copley Fund Research

Steven Holden highlights 3 key investment themes across his Global Emerging Market fund universe: 1) Average exposure to South Korea has plummeted to 15-year lows of 9.25%. Net outflows of $2bn and a significant reduction in exposure to Samsung Electronics have collectively driven South Korean exposure down by -1.75% over the past six months. 2) Real Estate exposure is rebounding. The percentage of funds invested has risen to 76.7%, nearing a 5-year high, with average weights and benchmark metrics at their highest levels in 10 years. 3) South African Financials are experiencing a resurgence with 69.54% of funds now holding exposure - the highest percentage in 4.5 years.

Technology

Report by Propitious Research

Quality Gen AI play trading at a discount - Samsung has witnessed a strong recovery in its most important end markets, including global smartphone demand and memory-related semiconductor prices. However, following the recent correction, the stock now trades on an 8.9x NTM PE ratio (7.2x ex-cash), which is more than one standard deviation below its 5-year historic average trading range and a level which has historically proved to be an excellent buying point. Samsung also trades at a discount to its global peer group on both a forward PE ratio and growth adjusted PEG ratio basis, despite a relatively stronger balance sheet (net cash at 19% of M/Cap). A further improvement in returns and a peak in the Capex cycle should support a further re-rating in the valuation.

Technology

Report by Radio Free Mobile

Preliminary results from Samsung combined with TSMC’s monthly revenue disclosure gives Richard Windsor increased confidence that the inventory correction has come to an end. Of all the component suppliers, QCOM is now trading at the bottom of its peer group in terms of PER ratio which demonstrates just how short-term the market thinks. There is no end in sight to its sales of 5G modems to Apple, it is winning enough deals in automotive to seriously disturb Mobileye and it is very well positioned for the Metaverse when or if it takes off. From a long-term valuation perspective, the shares are on sale.

Technology

Report by AceCamp International

3Q23 guidance misses expectations due to intensified pricing competition in smartphone OLED driver IC and AceCamp’s industry surveys reveal Chinese peers could gain additional market share as a result of accelerated localisation of smartphone components. Compounding matters, Samsung will also soon begin selling its OLED driver IC to Chinese smartphone makers. AceCamp believes Novatek could have only 15-20% unit market share in Apple’s OLED driver IC orders in 2024 (vs. consensus estimates of 30-40%). Their 2024/25 EPS forecasts are 30-40% below consensus; valuing the stock at 10-13x 2024/25 PE, implies 40%+ downside.

Technology

Report by Copley Fund Research

Return of the king - after a brief flirt with underweight in late 2022, active Asia Ex-Japan managers have rotated back into Samsung, pushing allocations towards record highs. It captured the largest increase in average holding weight and the largest increase in net overweight over the last 6 months. It also saw the joint 4th largest increase in the percentage of funds with outright ownership (was eclipsed by Meituan, Trip.com and BYD). Samsung has cemented itself as one of the highest conviction holdings in the Asia Ex-Japan region right now.

The blogosphere continues to buzz that Apple's in-house modem will not ship in 2023 and the iPhone 15 will ship with 100% Qualcomm silicon - while Michael Fox does not believe AAPL has “failed”, it is proving to be more difficult than Johny Srouji and his team anticipated. AAPL highly unlikely to risk all-important iPhone franchise on first-generation internal silicon; will begin the switch with iPads / Macbooks which have simpler use models. As with AAPL, Samsung continues to struggle with its LSI modem. Despite years of experience with developing / shipping in-house modems, design flaws could push the company to ship all 2023 Galaxy S models with QCOM modems.

Healthcare

Report by Entext

Biologics key play on Pharma moving to ‘Fabless’ outsourced manufacturing model - an increasing number of Biotech / Pharma companies are choosing to outsource production facilities to avoid navigating the increasingly challenging regulatory landscape on their own. By combining a CRO and CDMO business model, the result is a full-scale CRDMO providing a completely integrated suite of end-to-end pharma solutions, WuXi (and Samsung Biologics) are both in this elite category. At the end of 2021, WuXi had already secured 60 integrated projects from customers worldwide (+50% y/y). The recent share price sell-off on US sanction fears is overdone.

Healthcare

Report by Intron Health

Intron Health have conducted a detailed analysis which shows how much aducanumab will need to be produced, who the winners are likely to be and the revenue uplift - they estimate that there are ~30m potential patients and a need for ~30,000kg of aducanumab. Biogen will only be able to produce ~25% of the quantity required, the rest will go to CDMOs. Biggest beneficiaries include Lonza (could see a 14% EBIT benefit and an 11% sales uplift vs. Intron’s 2024 forecasts) and Samsung Bio (potential 37% uplift to EBIT).