💿 How to View US and Korean Materials, Parts, and Equipment Differently — ooooo.law — ooooo.law

← 투자의견 게시판Mentioned$ACLS$VECO$ONTO$ENTG$ACMR$COHU$MKSI$ICHR$AEHR$K039030$K403870$K122640$K036930$K240810$K140860$K348210$K098460$K064290$K420770$K281820$K319660$K217820$K039440$K079370$K089030$K232140$K092870$K253590$K095340$K058470$K080220$K083310$K131970$K036540$K045100$K036640$K114810$K166090$K104830$K074600$K357780$K005290$K064760<br>When it comes to investing in AI semiconductors, most people first think of a set group of companies. These are large-cap stocks like NVIDIA, TSMC, ASML, SK hynix, and Samsung Electronics. They are undoubtedly at the center of AI infrastructure. The problem, however, is that the market is already well aware of this . The fact that a company is good is always different from the fact that it's a good investment opportunity.<br>So recently, I've been looking in a slightly different direction. This is the realm of process equipment, inspection equipment, test equipment, materials, components, and gas/chemical supply systems , which are essential as AI semiconductors are sold in greater quantities and manufactured with increasing complexity. These are the so-called "so-bu-jang" companies—materials, components, and equipment suppliers.<br>However, one should not view US and Korean equipment and materials stocks in the same way. US equipment and materials companies generally have a strong global customer base and an independent technological position in specific processes. For example, $ACLS in ion implantation equipment, $VECO in laser annealing, ion beam deposition, and compound semiconductor equipment, $ONTO in advanced packaging inspection and metrology, and $ENTG in filters, materials, and contamination control—each has a relatively clear domain. Their customers are also often not solely dependent on specific Korean memory companies but are spread across global foundries, IDMs, OSATs, and equipment manufacturers.<br>On the other hand, Korean equipment and materials stocks are a bit different. Even with good technology, they are heavily influenced by the investment cycles of specific large customers like Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and LG Display, and whether they pass their qualification tests. If US companies are closer to "companies that sell solutions to global process bottlenecks," Korean companies are often closer to "companies that localize or advance specific processes within the domestic memory/foundry supply chain."<br>This difference is important from an investment perspective. For US equipment and materials stocks, one must first look at their technological position and global market share. For Korean ones, in addition to technological prowess, one must also consider customer adoption, the speed of transition to mass production, localization trends, the CAPEX cycles of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, and their investment direction in HBM and advanced packaging .<br>This doesn't mean that Korean equipment and materials stocks are less attractive. On the contrary, as AI semiconductors move towards HBM, chiplets, hybrid bonding, CoWoS, PLP, CXL, and high-performance SSDs, new opportunities are opening up for Korean companies as well. Companies that were previously tied to front-end and memory cycles can now be re-evaluated based on more specific bottlenecks like advanced packaging, HBM testing, nano-metrology, laser annealing, cleaning/CMP, specialty gases, and test sockets.<br>The core idea I'm focusing on now is simple.<br>Instead of chasing expensive AI leaders, find the essential bottlenecks that become more critical as AI semiconductors grow more complex.<br>In the US, companies like $ACLS, $VECO, $ONTO, $ACMR, $COHU, $MKSI, $ICHR, $AEHR, $ENTG fit this perspective. So, which companies in the Korean market are on a similar trajectory? While there isn't a perfect 1:1 correspondence, looking at it by process reveals some quite interesting candidates.<br>1. Korean Equipment & Materials Candidates Corresponding to US Peers<br>US Company Core Area Korean Companies to Watch Mapping Logic $VECO Laser Annealing, Ion Beam Deposition, SiPho, GaN, Advanced Packaging$K039030 EOTechincs , $K403870 HPSP , $K122640 YEST , $K036930 Jusung Engineering , $K240810 WONIK IPS Annealing, deposition, high-value front-end equipment$ONTO Advanced Packaging Inspection & Metrology, 2D/3D Metrology$K140860 Park Systems , $K348210 Nextin , $K098460 Koh Young , $K064290 Intekplus , $K420770 Gigavis HBM, hybrid bonding, packaging inspection/metrology$ACMR Cleaning, Plating, Wet Process, Advanced Packaging$K281820 KC Tech , $K319660 PSK , Rather than $K217820 Wonik PNE , $K039440 STI , $K079370 Zeus CMP, cleaning, PR strip, wet process$COHU Test, Handler, Inspection$K089030 Techwing , $K232140 YC , $K092870 Exicon , $K253590 NEOSEM , $K095340 ISC , $K058470 Leeno Industrial HBM/Memory/SSD/Socket/Probe testing$MKSI Process Control, RF, Vacuum, Photonics, Chemical Process EquipmentExclude $K080220 Jeju Semiconductor , $K083310...