# Samsung, SK hynix Traded at 2-3 Times 2027-28 Earnings on Oct. 16

By Enna Lee

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/35511
Published: 2026-10-20T09:52:41.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-20T09:52:41.000Z
Section: Investing

> The Oct. 16 snapshot put SK hynix shares 57% below their June peak, while October PC DRAM contract quotes were more than 15% above September levels as of that date.

As of Oct. 16, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix traded at roughly two to three times projected 2027-28 earnings after both stocks had fallen more than 50% from their June peaks. The valuations were near levels associated with past memory-cycle lows, though the price and earnings outlook had not shown a comparable downturn.

Samsung's projected price-to-earnings ratio was 3.0 times for 2027 and 2.8 times for 2028. SK hynix's was 2.7 times and 2.3 times, respectively. The calculations used consensus earnings estimates. Both companies also traded near one times projected book value per share for 2027-28.

SK hynix had dropped 57% from its June peak by Oct. 16, more than the 51% average correction over more than 20 years. The historical average decline lasted 15 months; this correction took four months. The decline was deeper and faster than that historical average.

Earlier memory-cycle lows were associated with falling DRAM prices and large operating losses. The October pricing picture was different: as of Oct. 16, contract-price quotes for DDR4 and DDR5 PC DRAM were more than 15% above September levels. These quotes cover particular types of computer memory, rather than chip prices broadly.

2028 earnings per share were projected to decline by a single digit year over year. The 2028 projections kept sales and operating profit near their projected 2027 peaks and earnings near supercycle levels. Those figures are forecasts, not reported results.

AI data centers are a central part of the memory-demand outlook. Products include high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and enterprise solid-state drives. At investor meetings in Singapore, views differed: hedge funds were bearish, while most long-term investors were bullish. Concerns included high financing costs for newer cloud providers, potential growth in Chinese 4F² DRAM supply, lower memory content per GPU, slower AI spending or memory-price growth, and the possibility that earnings would miss bullish expectations.

Even under a softer 2028 earnings outlook, valuations remained low, and Chinese 4F² supply was viewed as a limited potential risk. SK hynix's anticipated fourth-quarter guidance offered a way to assess average selling prices and margins. The share-price correction was out of step with current memory fundamentals, while the duration of the cycle remained a key point of investor disagreement.