[Click e-Stock] "End of Price Cycle Nears... Semiconductor Investment Focus Shifting to MCE Companies"

Independent research firm Growth Research has analyzed that the focus of the memory semiconductor industry is shifting from price increases to capital expenditure, with the strategic importance of semiconductor materials, components, and equipment (MCE) companies rising significantly.

In its semiconductor industry report published on June 8, Growth Research diagnosed that as the upward trend in memory prices is slowing, global semiconductor companies are now competing to expand production capacity, which is driving a full-fledged growth phase for equipment and MCE companies.

According to the report, DRAM prices in the first quarter of 2026 rose by 93–98% compared to the previous quarter, and in the second quarter, prices are up another 58–63%, indicating that the increase has already approached a peak. On the other hand, major semiconductor companies are rapidly increasing their capital expenditures.

In particular, TSMC has announced that its capital expenditures for this year will increase by approximately 32% year-on-year, reaching between 52 billion and 56 billion dollars. The production capacity of CoWoS, an advanced packaging technology, is also expected to grow from 75,000 wafers per month in 2025 to 130,000 wafers per month in 2026.

This trend of increasing investment is also leading to the expansion of production infrastructure by domestic semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Samsung Electronics is bringing forward its investment execution for the Pyeongtaek P4 facility, while SK hynix is also accelerating investments in the Cheongju M15X and Yongin Cluster.

In the NAND market, there is a growing shift toward high-layer transition investments rather than simple capacity additions. As process complexity increases, the input of equipment for deposition, etching, cleaning, and CMP processes is structurally rising as well.

Researcher Han Yonghee analyzed, "The most noteworthy sector in this semiconductor cycle is equipment, which directly reflects the effects of customers' capital expenditure expansion," and added, "With the transition to next-generation DRAM processes and increased demand for AI semiconductors, the importance of CoWoS back-end process equipment is growing even further."

He also pointed to PSK Holdings, which owns Descum and reflow equipment used in HBM and CoWoS back-end processes; VM, the only domestic company specializing in dry etching equipment; and KC Tech, which is expected to benefit from the expansion of CMP processes, as major beneficiaries.

Han emphasized, "The future competitiveness of the semiconductor industry will hinge not just on chip prices but on how quickly and precisely companies can expand production capacity. MCE companies, previously regarded as part of the downstream industry, are now being re-evaluated as core infrastructure enabling capacity expansion, marking a turning point for the sector."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.