Korean stock is a ‘unique’ beneficiary of Nvidia’s AI chips: Citi
Citi has identified South Korean firm Doosan Corporation as a significant beneficiary of Nvidia ‘s next generation of AI chips and expects its stock to rise by more than 40% in the next 12 months. The Wall Street bank initiated coverage of Doosan with a “Buy/High Risk” rating, setting a target price of 330,000 Korean won ($234) on the stock. The investment bank’s analyst highlighted Doosan’s unique position as the exclusive supplier of “copper clad laminate” (CCL) to Nvidia — an essential component in the chip giant’s upcoming Blackwell graphics processing units, or GPUs . Nvidia’s next-generation artificial intelligence chip Blackwell is in hot demand from companies like OpenAI, Microsoft , Meta and other firms building AI data centers to power products like ChatGPT and Copilot. “As the sole CCL supplier of Nvidia’s Blackwell chips, we expect Doosan to directly and materially benefit from Blackwell production throughout [2025 estimate period],” Citi’s analysts led by Josh Yang said in a note to clients on Nov. 13 titled ‘Unique Direct Nvidia Blackwell Beneficiary in Korea’. CCLs are materials used to produce printed circuit boards used in electronics including servers and smartphones. Doosan’s CCLs are manufactured by Doosan Electronics, a subsidiary that accounts for over 70% of the corporation’s revenue. The electronics division is expected to see substantial growth as Nvidia ramps up production of its new AI chips, according to Citi. Citi forecasted that Doosan’s AI-related revenue could reach 363 billion Korean won ($258 million) in 2025, driving a 90% increase in operating profit for that year. The bank’s analysts believe this estimate could be conservative, noting the increased CCL content per Blackwell chip, which could translate into a much higher total addressable market than previously estimated. Doosan’s stock has already shown strong performance, rising nearly 150% this year and almost tripling in value over the past year. The company is currently valued at about $2.5 billion on the Korean stock exchange. U.S. investors can access the stock through ETFs such as Schwab Fundamental International Small Co. Index ETF and Invesco FTSE RAFI Developed Markets ex-US Small-Mid ETF . Doosan is one of South Korea’s oldest business conglomerates and runs subsidiaries across energy, robotics, construction and real estate. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom and CJ Haddad contributed reporting.