SK hynix Inc. (000660.KS) vs Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)

SK hynix Inc. is a South Korean semiconductor company and one of the world’s largest producers of memory chips. Its core products include DRAM and NAND flash memory used in data centers, personal computers, smartphones, servers, and artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company plays an important role in the global supply chain for advanced computing, with demand tied closely to cloud services, enterprise hardware, mobile devices, and high-performance AI systems.

Applied Materials Inc. is the world’s largest manufacturer of semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment, with a broad portfolio covering nearly every segment of the WFE ecosystem. The company holds a leading market share in deposition technologies, which involve adding new material layers to semiconductor wafers. Applied Materials has greater exposure to general-purpose logic chips produced by integrated device manufacturers and foundries. Its customer base includes some of the world’s largest chipmakers, such as TSMC, Intel, and Samsung.