Nvidia's surprise endorsement may have some investors excited about Samsung Electronics' prospects of catching up in the artificial intelligence (AI) race, but others remain skeptical. Samsung's main competitor SK Hynix is ​​already a supplier to Nvidia, providing the latter with the latest version of high-bandwidth memory HBM3E. Huang seemed to hint that Nvidia would also buy some HBM chips from Samsung, but SK Hynix has already made huge strides by supplying previous generations of technology.

Yoon Joonwon, a fund manager at Deutsche Bank Asset Management, said Samsung Electronics is indeed more attractive than in the past, but it is still too early to buy the stock based on the expected prospects of HBM's business.


So far, the AI ​​theme has been a boon for SK Hynix, whose shares have doubled in the past year, outpacing Samsung's 30% gain. The difference is that SK Hynix leads the way in HBM chips, which run with processors critical for large language model training. Given its share of the consumer device market, Samsung is more vulnerable to the cyclical demand and pricing of commoditized traditional memory.

That's why the market was surprised when reports surfaced that Huang planned to buy Samsung Memory. His remarks put shares of South Korea's most valuable company on track for a 10% weekly gain, the most since 2015.

Options traders are more ambivalent. Samsung Electronics has seen a surge in betting positions in both directions this week, including put options betting that the stock will fall 70% in the next three months, and call options that will cash out if the stock surges 300% in the next three months.


Short-term traders reacted against the boost to stock prices brought about by Huang's comments. While institutional investors bought Samsung shares heavily on Wednesday and Thursday, retail investors sold a net 3 trillion won ($2.3 billion) of shares, setting a two-day selling record.

"Most people's view is still that Samsung will not be favored with HBM3E," BNK Asset Management Co. said ChaSo-yoon, fund manager and head of the equity team. "If sentiment in the technology sector turns, it will be a good thing for both companies, but SK Hynix does not seem to be losing its dominant position in the HBM field."