Broadcom Earnings Put Samsung, SK Hynix in Spotlight as 2027 AI Outlook Looms

Broadcom to report fiscal third-quarter results on Sept. 3

Market focused on fiscal 2027 AI revenue and order guidance

Broadcom deepens partnerships with Samsung and SK Hynix

Results seen as a key gauge of AI spending durability

South Korean semiconductor stocks including Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. are facing another key test after Nvidia Corp.’s earnings, this time from Broadcom Inc.’s results. Investors are focused less on the quarterly figures than on Broadcom’s fiscal 2027 revenue and order outlook, which could show how much longer Big Tech’s artificial intelligence spending will run. Brokerages say renewed confirmation of durable AI chip demand could help revive sentiment toward Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Broadcom is scheduled to report fiscal third-quarter 2026 results for the May-to-July period at 6 a.m. Korea time on Sept. 3, according to the financial investment industry on Sept. 2. The company supplies custom AI chips, or ASICs, and data-center networking chips to Big Tech customers including Google. It has emerged as a leader in AI semiconductors outside Nvidia’s stronghold in general-purpose graphics processing units.

Broadcom’s push to expand ASIC production is feeding demand for high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, and advanced packaging. Its earnings and order outlook are therefore viewed as a gauge of the scale and durability of Big Tech’s AI spending. The market is especially watching whether Broadcom will offer more specific guidance for fiscal 2027 AI revenue.

JPMorgan expects Broadcom’s AI revenue to top $56 billion in fiscal 2026 and rise to $130 billion in fiscal 2027, exceeding the company’s own projection of more than $100 billion. The bank maintained an overweight rating and a $580 price target.

Broadcom shares began the year at $350 and climbed above $480 in early June before sliding to $370 as doubts spread about the staying power of AI spending. If the company delivers stronger-than-expected AI revenue and order guidance, that could reinforce the robust AI demand Nvidia highlighted.

A beat on earnings alone may not be enough. If guidance falls short of expectations, concerns about a slowdown in AI investment could quickly return.

Park Jae-hwan, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, said the key issue in this earnings report will be whether Broadcom raises AI revenue guidance for fiscal 2026 and 2027 and whether it has secured the supply chain needed to support that outlook.

Nvidia earlier reported second-quarter earnings that beat market expectations and indicated supply bottlenecks in AI semiconductors could continue through 2028. That was taken as a sign that demand for AI infrastructure could remain firm over the medium to long term.

Still, South Korean chip stocks failed to capitalize on Nvidia’s strong results. The semiconductor sector fell 1.5% in August, trailing major industries, according to Kiwoom Securities. Semiconductors’ share of Kospi market capitalization also shrank to 53.2% from 61.6% in June.

Higher interest rates and foreign selling have weighed on the sector. With long-term US Treasury yields rising, the valuation pressure on growth stocks such as chipmakers has intensified. Foreign investors were net sellers of 10.1659 trillion won on the Kospi in August and sold 7.13 trillion won of semiconductor shares. By company, net selling totaled about 6.4 trillion won in SK Hynix and 820 billion won in Samsung Electronics.

Another reason investors are closely watching Broadcom’s earnings is its expanding ties with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Samsung signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with Broadcom at an AI Summit in San Francisco in July to build next-generation core AI infrastructure.

The companies agreed to pursue $200 billion of cooperation over the next five years through 2030 in memory and foundry manufacturing. Samsung will supply advanced memory solutions including HBM to help improve the performance of Broadcom’s AI accelerators.

SK Hynix is also strengthening what the article described as a one-team system with Broadcom. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won met Broadcom Chief Executive Officer Hock Tan at the company’s San Jose headquarters in February to discuss the medium- to long-term outlook for the memory market and supply strategy. At that meeting, SK Hynix shared its future HBM roadmap and technology development plans, and the two sides agreed to sharply expand cooperation so that SK Hynix’s most advanced memory technology can be applied from the early stages of Broadcom’s AI chip design.

As cooperation deepens between Broadcom and South Korea’s two biggest chipmakers, this earnings release could matter beyond short-term market volatility and help reaffirm their medium- to long-term growth prospects. If AI chip demand from global Big Tech led by Broadcom remains solid, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix stand to benefit further thanks to their technology and leading HBM supply chains.

Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said changes in Broadcom’s AI revenue guidance for future quarters and the pace of revenue recognition will be important in this earnings report. The outcome will have a major impact not only on US AI shares but also on the South Korean stock market, Han said.

Kang Kyung-ju, Hankyung.com reporter qurasoha@hankyung.com