The future of artificial intelligence (AI) and the semiconductor industry is expected to become clearer with the upcoming second-quarter earnings reports from major U.S. tech companies and SK Hynix.
According to financial investment industry sources on July 20, Alphabet, Google's parent company, and Tesla will announce their second-quarter results on July 22, U.S. local time, while Intel will follow on July 23. SK Hynix will hold its second-quarter earnings conference call on July 29. These reports will provide insights from key players in the global AI supply chain.
Last week, TSMC reported its highest-ever net profit for the second quarter, citing strong demand for AI chips that is expected to continue for several years.
This week, the earnings reports from U.S. tech giants will be closely watched. For Alphabet, key points of interest include cloud services and capital investment. If Google Cloud continues to grow and AI services help maintain revenue from search and advertising, concerns about a bubble may ease. Conversely, if data center investment pressures profit margins, doubts about the sustainability of AI investments could increase.
Tesla faces a different kind of scrutiny. While it is primarily an electric vehicle manufacturer, the market also views it as a player in the robotaxi, humanoid robot, and autonomous driving AI sectors. Investors may react more sensitively to the scale of AI investments and the timeline for profitability than to vehicle sales.
Intel, meanwhile, must demonstrate a turnaround in its AI semiconductor supply chain, which has become dominated by Nvidia and TSMC. The company needs to show progress in its foundry and server semiconductor sectors. If Intel falters, concerns about polarization in the AI semiconductor ecosystem could resurface.
Next week, SK Hynix will take the spotlight. Its earnings will serve as an indicator of the ongoing HBM supercycle. While revenue and operating profit are important, the market will pay closer attention to the sustainability of HBM orders, negotiations for next year's volumes, and trends in general DRAM prices.
This earnings season will simultaneously validate companies investing in AI infrastructure and semiconductor suppliers. If the big tech companies exceed expectations, concerns about the burden of AI investments may diminish. Should SK Hynix project strong demand, fears of a peak in HBM may also subside.
On the other hand, if big tech companies express concerns about investment burdens or if cloud growth rates slow, the narrative of an AI peak could solidify. If SK Hynix signals a conservative outlook for next year's demand, the adjustment period for domestic semiconductor stocks could extend.
Kim Dong-won, head of research at KB Securities, stated in a report on SK Hynix's second-quarter results that "the memory supply shortage felt by general customers next year will be close to a zero-supply level," predicting that long-term supply contracts (LTA) between big tech and memory companies will secure production volumes.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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