SK hynix tumbles 14%, Samsung Electronics drops 9% after Meta's AI surplus announcement

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix both tumbled Thursday after Meta stoked fresh debate over excessive AI investment by big tech companies.

According to Korea Exchange, SK hynix closed down 14.57 percent from the previous session at 2.19 million won ($1,410), while Samsung Electronics fell 9.06 percent to 286,000 won, slipping below the 300,000-won threshold.

The selloff came after Meta said it would rent out surplus computing capacity it had accumulated while building its AI infrastructure to outside customers. The announcement reignited concerns about overinvestment in semiconductors and a potential peak in chip demand.

"Meta's announcement of a plan to offer surplus computing resources built as AI infrastructure to outside customers triggered concerns about big tech overinvestment and the possibility that semiconductor demand has peaked," said Seo Sang-young, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities.

However, domestic brokerages said the market's interpretation was excessive.

Moon Jun-ho, a researcher at Samsung Securities, said he believed it was a misconception that idle capacity exists given strong AI demand. "Pursuing additional revenue through short-term leasing is a rational strategy that improves the return on investment for AI capital expenditure," he said.

Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said only the narrative had taken a hit while underlying earnings remained solid. "After factoring in Thursday's sharp decline, the forward price-to-earnings ratio has dropped to the very low single digits — around seven times — and AI-leading stocks that have fallen roughly 10 percent or more are worth approaching as a buying opportunity," she said.