Jukan
Semiconductor & AI Infrastructure Research at Citrini
The Roundhill Memory ETF is the more fitting way to take a pure bet on the memory cycle. About three-quarters of it sits in Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron, making it a direct vehicle for memory chips and an attractive alternative for overseas retail investors barred from buying Samsung and SK Hynix directly. A Korea ETF also holds both but carries sizable stakes in other companies such as Hyundai Motor. x.comÂ
The Roundhill Memory ETF is a genuinely great way to get memory exposure, especially without access to foreign stocks. It concentrates on the three leaders, Micron at 24.6%, Samsung at 24.1% and SK Hynix at 23.1%, plus SanDisk, Kioxia, Western Digital, Nanya and Winbond. x.comÂ
The DRAM ETF looks better than SK hynix's ADR, which trades at a 23% premium to its Korean-listed shares. That premium should shrink further after July 29, when Korea enables two-way exchange between common shares and ADRs and lists the ADRs locally, making the Korea ETF or DRAM the smarter buy. x.comÂ
The Roundhill Memory ETF is hard to justify because 75% of its holdings sit in just three stocks, so investors pay a fee for little diversification. x.comÂ
SK hynix's five-year agreements with 14 major customers cover more than half its 2027-28 capacity, giving its memory earnings unusually long visibility. DRAM prices rose 28% and NAND 25% in the quarter, while operating profit reached 62.8 billion against 58.5 billion expected; Q4 DRAM shipments are guided up 25% from Q3. Those commitments support the view that demand is not peaking yet. Overweight, $400 target. x.comÂ
More memory CapEx may yield proportionally fewer bits as HBM consumes more wafer capacity, supporting SK hynix and Samsung's pricing. Both reported double-digit quarterly DRAM and NAND price gains; Samsung targets 60-70% of mid- to long-term capacity under LTAs. SK hynix has the stronger execution record, but Samsung could benefit enormously from conventional memory without winning HBM4. If trends persist, normalized margins could rise, though memory remains cyclical. x.comÂ
SK hynix's new direct US listing is a small disadvantage for the Roundhill Memory ETF, which investors had bought partly to own SK hynix indirectly. Owning memory companies directly is preferable to the ETF. x.comÂ
Buying the memory sector through the Roundhill Memory ETF or KMEM avoids single-company risk, and both look good here. KMEM is more heavily weighted to the Korean memory names. x.comÂ
Micron is the better memory buy here because Korean stocks have traded poorly and SK hynix's US ADR carries a massive premium over its Korean listing. SK hynix remains the preferred company; HBM is favored over NAND, making Micron and SK hynix preferable to SanDisk. Memory stocks look cheap, with very attractive risk/reward at these levels, and are unlikely to stay cheap for long. x.comÂ
The memory ETF is not worth buying yet, because it is essentially just the KOSPI plus Micron and more forced selling is likely in Korea. x.comÂ
Memory should outperform over the next 6-12 months because demand is not slowing and supply is not catching up. The DRAM ETF is the easiest way to gain exposure, with Micron, Samsung and SK hynix as its top three positions. x.comÂ
