Barclays Raises Price Targets Again for Two Major Memory Giants, Doubling the Target Price of SK Hynix Listed in Frankfurt from 1,100 Euros to 2,300 Euros, and Raising Samsung Electronics Listed in London from 425,000 Pence to 730,000 Pence (Approximately £7,300).
(Previous summary: Goldman Sachs bullish: Storage shortage soars until 2028, Samsung and Hynix collectively raise targets)
(Additional background: Memory Price Surge Victims: GoPro admits "significant operational concerns")

Key Highlights

Barclays doubles SK Hynix target price to 2,300 euros, raises Samsung Electronics to 730,000 pence, maintains Overweight rating
SK Hynix's market cap surpassed $1 trillion on 5/27, up 260% this year; Samsung hit $1 trillion on 5/6, up over 200%
HBM full-year capacity sold out, supply-demand imbalance expected to continue until 2027, short-term supply gap cannot be narrowed

The memory industry is experiencing a textbook super cycle, while Wall Street continues to chase higher prices.

Barclays has recently raised the target prices for these two major memory giants significantly again, with SK Hynix's Frankfurt-listed stock doubling from 1,100 euros to 2,300 euros, and Samsung Electronics' London-listed stock increasing from 425,000 pence to 730,000 pence, both maintaining an "Overweight" rating. This marks the second upward revision by Barclays this year for these stocks, after raising from 900 euros and $4,000 respectively to 1,100 euros and $4,250 in early May.

HBM sales are not enough until 2027

Barclays' core logic is that the supply-demand imbalance in the memory market shows "no signs of improvement in the short term." The bank estimates that global memory supply will grow only about 20% in 2026 and 2027, but demand is accelerating even faster, and the gap cannot be narrowed within two years.

SK Hynix is the biggest beneficiary of this cycle. As NVIDIA's core HBM supplier, the company's HBM capacity for 2026 has already been fully sold out, with shortages expected to continue into 2027. In Q1 2026, revenue reached 52.6 trillion Korean won, up 198% year-over-year, with an operating margin of 72%. On May 27, the stock price surged 11% in a single day, and its market cap officially broke $1 trillion, joining TSMC and NVIDIA in the trillion-dollar club.

Samsung Electronics, a step earlier, already crossed the trillion-dollar mark on May 6, becoming the second Asian semiconductor company after TSMC to join the trillion-dollar club. Barclays estimates Samsung's HBM revenue will triple in 2026, and has raised its revenue forecasts for 2026 and 2027 by approximately 8% and 17%, respectively. On June 1, Samsung's common stock market value further surpassed 2,000 trillion Korean won, with the stock price approaching 365,000 Korean won.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much have SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics increased this year?

SK Hynix has gained over 260% since the beginning of the year, with market cap surpassing $1 trillion on 5/27; Samsung Electronics has increased over 200%, crossing the trillion-dollar mark on 5/6. Both companies benefit from AI-driven explosive demand for high-bandwidth HBM memory.

How long will HBM shortages last?

Barclays estimates that the memory supply-demand gap cannot be narrowed in 2026 and 2027. SK Hynix's full-year HBM capacity for 2026 has already been sold out, with customer demand exceeding planned capacity for the next three years.

View Original

This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.