Samsung Electronics introduces quantum computing into semiconductor manufacturing processes
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US pre-market news at a glance: Samsung's earnings report triggered a collective weakness in semiconductor stocks in pre-market trading; SpaceX officially debuts on the Nasdaq 100 today.
According to BlockBeats, the following are key market news items before the US stock market opened on July 7th: 1. Samsung released its Q2 earnings forecast, showing an operating profit increase of over 1800% year-on-year, with single-quarter profits exceeding the total of the previous three years. Simultaneously, the company's revenue also increased by 129% year-on-year, reaching 171 trillion won. Affected by the semiconductor sell-off triggered by the "sell-off" of Samsung's earnings, chip-related technology stocks generally weakened in pre-market trading. The three major US stock futures indices showed mixed results in pre-market trading: Dow Jones futures rose 0.41%, Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.9%, and S&P 500 futures fell 0.09%. 2. SpaceX officially debuted on the Nasdaq 100 before the US stock market opened today, with Wall Street institutions collectively bullish. Most institutions believe that SpaceX is no longer just a traditional aerospace company, but a platform company with the potential for rocket launches, Starlink satellite internet, AI infrastructure, and future space computing. 3. DeepSeek is secretly developing its own inference chip. If successful, this would reduce reliance on external suppliers and give it more cost-effective hardware control. However, the project is still in its early stages and faces manufacturing and memory acquisition restrictions due to US export controls. 4. UBS recommends investors buy SK Hynix's upcoming American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and sell its South Korean shares, as these new shares are expected to trade at higher prices. 5. JPMorgan strategists say the recent weakness in semiconductor stocks should be seen as a buying opportunity, as the chip upcycle is not yet over, and truly meaningful new supply may not appear until 2028. 6. US ADP employment change for the week ending June 20 was 21,000, compared to 30,750 in the previous week. 7. BlackRock will launch an ETF tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index, aiming to meet investors' growing demand for participation in the AI-driven stock market rally and challenge Invesco's dominant position. 8. Amazon is returning to the US bond market to raise funds for its artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company will issue eight benchmark bonds with maturities ranging from 3 to 40 years, raising at least $25 billion in the dollar bond offering. 9. Global brokerages have begun coverage research on Elon Musk's SpaceX (SPCX.O), and a preliminary consensus has formed on Wall Street: buy the stock. At least six brokerages, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and UBS, have given it a buy rating, optimistic about its long-term growth prospects, although doubts remain about profitability and valuation.
Samsung's 4nm production is nearly sold out, and some 8nm processes are nearing full capacity. Samsung's foundry services are beginning to selectively accept orders.
According to reports, industry insiders say that as demand for AI semiconductors heats up and orders from major global technology companies increase, Samsung Electronics' foundry division has implemented an allocation mechanism for certain processes. This mechanism concentrates limited capacity on more important customers and processes, prioritizing existing customers while selectively accepting new orders. (Sina Finance)
US pre-market news highlights: EDA giants focus on AI chip design; SpaceX officially included in the Nasdaq 100 index; Analysts say AI computing power demand is far from peaking.
Mars Finance reports the following key financial news from the US stock market that investors should pay attention to: 1. US stock index futures showed mixed results. Dow Jones futures rose 0.29%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.15%, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.94%. 2. International oil prices rose slightly. WTI crude oil futures rose 0.61% to $68.967 per barrel; Brent crude oil futures rose 0.74% to $72.526 per barrel. 3. International gold and silver spot prices fluctuated narrowly. Spot gold rose 0.03% to $4166.01 per ounce; spot silver fell 0.64% to $61.62 per ounce. 4. European stock indices all fell. The UK FTSE 100 rose 0.47%, the French CAC 40 rose 0.20%, and the German DAX 30 fell 0.63%. 5. EDA giant Synopsys informed more than 10 chip manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, in April and May that it would "suspend" some of its wafer fab manufacturing analysis software, shifting resources to the more profitable AI chip design business. 6. SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, was officially included in the Nasdaq 100 index today, becoming the first company in the index with a space business at its core. JPMorgan Chase estimates its weight in the index at approximately 1.3%. Wall Street generally gave it an "initial bullish" rating, with a target price as high as $800. 7. Google invested over €400 million in Proxima Fusion, a European nuclear fusion "unicorn" company, with the aim of building a commercial fusion power plant by the 2030s. 8. Anthropic announced a 20-year AI data center lease agreement with AI data center operator TeraWulf. The project has a capacity of approximately 401 megawatts and is expected to be operational in the second half of 2027, reaching full capacity in early 2028. 9. A recent report from semiconductor research firm SemiAnalysis indicates that AI computing power demand is far from peaking. The firm predicts that Meta computing power procurement will accelerate, and capital expenditure may increase significantly next year. 10. Walmart and its Sam's Club announced price reductions on thousands of popular summer items and everyday essentials across the United States. 11. Microsoft raised its Microsoft 365 Enterprise subscription fee earlier this month, with increases ranging from 8% to 33%. Personal and Education versions are currently unaffected. (Cailian Press)
Hong Kong Stocks Midday Review: Hang Seng Index down 0.42%, Samsung concerns drag down memory semiconductors.
Mars Finance reported on July 7th that Hong Kong's three major stock indices rose in the morning but then continued to decline. By midday, the Hang Seng Index and the H-share Index were both down 0.42%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.28%. The performance of heavyweight tech stocks, which had been rebounding , long. Kuaishou plummeted over 9%, JD.com fell over 1%, Meituan rose over 4%, and Tencent rose nearly 3%. Samsung's surged profits could not mask underlying concerns, leading to a sharp decline in memory semiconductor stocks. Southern Securities' double- long positions in Hynix and Samsung Electronics both plummeted over 19%, Montage Technology fell over 10%, and GigaDevice fell over 8%. PCB concept stocks, gold stocks, and photovoltaic stocks all fell; mobile game stocks and AI application concept stocks bucked the trend and were active. (TechStock Treasure Broadcast)
Samsung Electronics' foundry business returned to profitability in June for the first time in three years.
According to Mars Finance, on July 6th, Samsung Electronics' foundry business achieved monthly profitability in June of this year. This is the first time the business has recorded monthly profitability since 2023. Industry insiders believe that increased orders for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) base chips and improved yields in advanced processes reduced fixed costs, driving the recovery in profitability. Based on current trends, Samsung's foundry business is expected to achieve quarterly profitability in the third quarter of this year. Although the overall performance in the second quarter was still dragged down by losses in April and May, making it difficult to determine whether the entire quarter had achieved profitability, with the turnaround in June, Samsung generally believes that the possibility of the company achieving quarterly profitability in the third quarter has significantly increased. Analysts believe that this is the first time Samsung's foundry business has achieved monthly profitability since 2023. In the past few years, this business has been in a state of long-term loss, mainly due to multiple factors including low yields in advanced processes, the loss of large customers, and insufficient capacity utilization.
Samsung Electronics' operating profit this year is expected to exceed the cumulative total of the past 40 years, and the second quarter may set a new record for the highest operating profit in the history of global technology companies.
According to Mars Finance, on July 6th, Kim Yong-kwan, head of the semiconductor business's operational strategy at Samsung Electronics, released optimistic signals at a departmental meeting on July 3rd, stating that this year's operating profit will meet market expectations, and adding that "the cumulative profit over the past 40 years of the semiconductor business is less than this year's profit alone." The market currently expects Samsung Electronics' full-year operating profit for 2026 to be approximately 300 trillion won, with a consensus expectation of 84.6 trillion won for the second quarter—if realized, this would surpass Nvidia's record of $53.536 billion in the first quarter of this year, setting a new record for the highest single-quarter operating profit for a global technology company. Kim Yong-kwan also emphasized that the company continues to invest over 40 trillion won in capital expenditure annually and plans to further expand its investment scale to cope with the continued expansion of demand for AI semiconductors. The combined performance of South Korea's two semiconductor giants is equally remarkable. SK Hynix's second-quarter operating profit is expected to be around 64.4 trillion won, bringing the combined total for both companies to approximately 149 trillion won, approaching 150 trillion won. However, some market analysts point out that the storage sector's stock prices have recently shown signs of peaking and declining. Whether they can rise further depends on whether the earnings significantly exceed expectations. The size and duration of long-term supply contracts and the price trend of storage in the second half of the year will be key variables to watch. Furthermore, SK Hynix's ADRs will be listed on July 10th. HSBC has raised its target price from 2.9 million won to 4 million won, believing that the ADR listing will improve accessibility for global investors and could bring a valuation premium of approximately 20%. JPMorgan Chase points out that the second-quarter earnings season will be a watershed moment for reassessing the storage cycle.