Global semiconductor markets are currently trapped in a typical divergence between industrial fundamentals and secondary market sentiment. U.S. and South Korean equity markets have continued their downward correction recently, putting persistent pressure on the entire semiconductor sector. SK Hynix shares have suffered consecutive declines, dragged by broad market deleveraging and short-term risk aversion, triggering widespread pessimism among retail and institutional investors.
However, the market’s downside momentum is gradually weakening, with clear bottoming signals emerging. According to JPMorgan’s latest institutional positioning data, semiconductor and Korean tech market deleveraging progress has neared 90%, marking the final stage of forced position reduction by hedge funds and quantitative capital. The drastic selloff driven by leveraged trading is basically exhausted, indicating that the semiconductor sector’s emotional bottom is approaching.
This has created a rare structural split: frontline industrial practitioners remain highly optimistic about the industry cycle, recognizing improving inventory levels, recovering downstream demand, and accelerating AI chip deployment. In sharp contrast, secondary market investors are extremely pessimistic, overreacting to short-term index declines and ignoring fundamental marginal improvements. This sentiment divergence is a classic feature near sector bottoms.
Microsoft Copilot Breakthrough Reshapes AI Industry Logic
While the semiconductor market is immersed in short-term volatility, Microsoft’s latest earnings report has delivered a pivotal positive surprise for the entire AI industry chain. Previously, Wall Street broadly downgraded Copilot’s growth prospects, with a consensus expectation of only 26.9 million seats for FY26 Q4. Contrary to bearish forecasts, Microsoft’s actual Copilot seats exceeded 30 million, achieving a net increase of 10 million in a single quarter.
The growth momentum is even more impressive in enterprise business. Enterprise-level Copilot deployments surged 75% quarter-over-quarter, far exceeding market estimates. Notably, the new incremental demand mainly comes from traditional large enterprises, rather than Internet tech firms alone. This proves that AI intelligent office tools have officially broken the industry boundary and entered large-scale commercial penetration in the traditional corporate sector.
Complete AI Business Closed Loop Verifies Long-Term Prosperity
The core value of Microsoft’s earnings performance lies in verifying a fully viable AI commercial closed loop, dispelling market doubts about weak AI monetization. The clear industrial logic runs as follows: Azure cloud computing provides underlying computing power support → advanced AI models generate iterative technological capabilities → Copilot is deeply embedded in Office scenarios and enterprise business workflows → enterprises pay for subscription seats steadily → massive Copilot inference demand further drives Azure’s cloud revenue growth.
This self-reinforcing loop connects underlying hardware computing power, model technology, terminal application scenarios, and paid monetization perfectly. It not only validates the sustainability of AI industrial demand but also provides long-term fundamental support for semiconductor and cloud infrastructure sectors amid current market pessimism.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not constituting any investment advice. All analysis is based on public market data and objective industry logic. Past market performance does not represent future trends.