GOLDEN SUN SECURITIES·2025-10-19 09:13Investment Rating - The report maintains an "Increase" rating for the industry [6] Core Insights - The AI-driven demand is significantly boosting the storage market, particularly for NAND Flash, as it accelerates the transition from HDD to high-capacity Nearline SSDs [1][14] - Samsung's Q3 2025 performance exceeded expectations, with a revenue increase of approximately 9% to 86 trillion KRW (about 85 billion USD), reaffirming its position as the largest storage supplier globally [2][21] - The ongoing price surge in storage products is attributed to tight supply and increased demand driven by AI applications, with significant price hikes observed across various storage categories [3][25][36] Summary by Sections 1. Storage Price Surge and Market Dynamics - NAND Flash suppliers are rapidly transitioning to large-capacity Nearline SSDs due to a significant supply gap in the HDD market, which is expected to enhance NAND demand further [1][14] - The average selling price (ASP) per GB for HDDs has risen from 0.012-0.013 USD to 0.015-0.016 USD, diminishing HDD's cost advantage [15] - The SSD market is experiencing a substantial price increase, with NVME3.0 and NVME4.0 capacities seeing price hikes between 11%-26% and 13%-24%, respectively [25][30] 2. Company Performance and Future Outlook - Samsung's Q3 2025 operating profit reached 12.1 trillion KRW (approximately 85 billion USD), driven by strong demand for DRAM and NAND products [2][21] - Samsung plans to mass-produce HBM4E by 2027, which is expected to significantly enhance data transfer speeds and energy efficiency compared to current products [21] 3. End-User Impact and Product Pricing - The price increases in storage components are reflected in the pricing of new mobile devices, such as the vivo X300 series, which has seen price increases of 100-300 CNY compared to its predecessor [4][37] - The supply constraints in NAND and LPDDR5X products are leading to tighter availability for mobile devices, prompting manufacturers to adjust pricing strategies accordingly [36][37] 4. Industry Events and Innovations - The OCP Global Summit showcased numerous AI-related innovations, indicating a strong focus on AI infrastructure and storage solutions [5] - TSMC reported a Q3 2025 revenue of 33.1 billion USD, with a projected annual revenue growth of nearly 35%, driven by advanced process technologies and AI demand [9]