[Exclusive] "People leaving the course, I think I forgot something"...The Wall Street Star Don't Mind Pessimism

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The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is still in its infancy. I hope Korean investors don't mind what the bearish or pessimist says."

This is the optimism made by Dan Ives, partner and tech analyst at Yorkville Ives, who visited Korea amid threats to the KOSPI's 6,000-point level. He is considered a "star analyst" on Wall Street and a leading bullish on AI-related stocks. After eight years as a leading analyst at Wedbush Securities, he established "AI financing investment bank" Yorkville Ives with Yorkville Securities in July.

The Ives partner, who visited Korea to meet Korean financial and technology companies, held a press conference at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul on the morning of the 14th and interviewed Mail Business exclusively at the Fairmont Hotel in Yeouido on the same afternoon. Ives partner, who met Mail Business in colorful patterned costumes such as pink hats and pastel-toned shirts, detailed stock market prospects as "special" as his extraordinary fashion sense.

"When I came to Korea and checked it myself, the growth of the memory market is very remarkable," Ives partner said, adding, "It helps us to determine how much the global AI revolution is taking place." "AI is currently in fierce competition like the arms sector," he said. "We are currently in our third year of the AI revolution that will continue for the next 10 to 20 years."

Regarding the recent weakness of memory stocks, he affirmed that "the selloff is excessive." "It's a sell-off that's hard to find even from a historical point of view," Ives partner said. "Many investors seem to have approached the past while overlooking the recent memory supercycle."

Asked about the reason behind the foreign sell-off, he speculated that "a large number of global investors using leverage have left Korea," adding, "There will be more individual investors among them than institutions." Investors who have recently left the Korean stock market are also likely to return next year, Ives Partner said. "The KOSPI will recover its high point by mid-2027."

At the meeting, Ives Partner pointed out Nvidia, Microsoft, Palantir, Apple, and CrowdStrike as the top five stocks to watch. Memory industries such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron were mentioned as promising stocks. In addition, he advised people to pay attention to Hyundai Motor Group and Hanwha Group stocks in the Korean stock market.

The stock recommended by Ives a few years ago was limited to big tech, which directly jumped into the AI industry, but recently, it is expanding to surrounding companies that make up the AI value chain.

"The companies that triggered the AI revolution were Nvidia, Hyperscaler (ultra-large AI cloud operator), and Magnificent 7, but now it is spreading further," said Ives Partner. "The number of beneficiaries in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th phases is increasing, and software, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and energy-related companies are also benefiting."

He said that if you are a memory investor, you don't have to worry too much about the pursuit of Chinese memory companies.

"Because there is a bottleneck in the memory supply chain, the stock price of Changsin Memory (CXMT) could also rise," he said. "In the current political situation, U.S. tech companies will not introduce China's memory."

When asked about comparing the investment attractiveness of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, they evaluated SK Hynix more positively, which had recently fallen. "Samsung Electronics also has great potential, but SK Hynix is special," Ives partner said. "SK Hynix is the place where you can take more pieces of pie if you spend trillions of dollars in the AI revolution."

In particular, Ives partner emphasized that Samsung Electronics should implement a similar strategy, seeing positively that SK Hynix issued the US Stock Deposit Certificate (ADR) in July this year. "It was a very smart strategic action," he said. "We can get closer to global investors through the issuance of ADRs."

The Ives partner argued that there is no need to worry about the recent instability in the government bond market or the environment of high interest rates. "I think interest rates will fall next year," he said. "Even if interest rates rise 0.8 to 1.0 percentage points in the future, it will not prevent the spread of the AI revolution."

He believed that the initial public offering (IPO) of Antropic and OpenAI was a favorable factor for both the Korean and U.S. stock markets. However, he predicted that the results of the U.S. midterm elections could pose short-term risks in some cases.

"If the Democratic Party takes control of both houses in the midterm elections, it is negative for the stock market," Ives partner said. "This is because it is expected to slow the spread of the AI revolution a little bit." In addition, energy such as power shortages was cited as a market risk.

▶Dan Ives, Yorkeville Ives Partner and Tech Analyst…

△ Born in 1974 △ Bachelor of Finance at Pennsylvania State University △ Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Maryland in 2000 △ Analyst of FBR Capital Markets in 2000-2016 △ Honorist of Wedbush Securities in 2018-2026 △ Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aitco Holdings in 2025-2026 △ 2026 ~ Yorkville Ives Partner and Tech Honorist