$BTC Storage bulls and bears clash as SK hynix plunges nearly 7%

SK hynix, which set a U.S. stock fundraising record, saw a sharp pullback: it fell nearly 7% in a single day. The storage sector weakened across the board, and the divide between bulls and bears fully erupted. The near-term selloff is driven by a convergence of multiple bearish catalysts: first, after a huge gain on its first day of U.S. listing, a massive profit-taking overhang built up, and the good news was cashed out by concentrated take-profit funds; second, Korean securities firms cut their expectations for second-quarter earnings—HBM’s long-term price locking dragged down the average price, and profit growth is lagging behind the market’s overly optimistic expectations already priced in. In addition, tension in the Strait of Hormuz has pushed up costs for crude oil and electronic chemical raw materials. Korean memory makers’ energy and consumables spending has risen, putting margin pressure on gross margin.
The short-sellers’ core logic is that the storage-cycle characteristic has not disappeared. Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron are all ramping up production on a large scale, with capacity concentrated for release after 2027. They also worry that AI capital expenditure may slow at the margin. Relying on compute power demand alone, once the pricing rally logic weakens, earnings will drop quickly. The Fed maintains a hawkish stance, and high-valued technology assets continue to be pressured by valuation headwinds.
Bulls still hold on to the long-term thesis: the global HBM supply gap is unlikely to be filled in the short term; cloud providers have locked in demand for the next two years through long-term orders; and the structural uptrend in high-end memory remains unchanged. This selloff is more about sentiment and clearing of profit-taking positions rather than a fundamental reversal.
Overall, the sector is entering a period of intense turbulence. Near-term selling pressure has not been fully released, and in the medium to long term it will be necessary to track AI capital expenditure and the pace of global capacity expansions.
(Macro commentary only; not investment advice)