SK Hynix raises $26.5B in largest foreign US IPO as AI boom fuels memory chip demand

SK Hynix raises $26.5B in the biggest foreign IPO in US history, is urged to build new US fabs

The AI chip boom just produced its biggest Wall Street moment yet. SK Hynix, a South Korean memory chip giant, said Friday it has raised $26.5 billion (KRW 40 trillion) in its US market debut. SK Hynix sold 177.9 million American depositary shares (ADRs) at $149 each, structured so US investors can buy in at roughly a tenth of what a full share costs in Seoul. This deal, the largest-ever US debut by a non-American company, topped Alibaba's $25 billion IPO in 2014. SK Hynix begins trading on the Nasdaq today, Friday, July 10th, under the temporary ticker SKHYV. Regular trading opens Monday, July 13th, when the ticker officially becomes SKHY. So far, US investors are lapping it up. The stock opened at 14% over its IPO price, and the price was still rising in early trading on Friday. This even as it priced its US shares at a 2.7% premium to its own three-day average back home in Seoul, according to its Korea Stock Exchange filing. Yet, demand for the offering was reportedly more than seven times the available shares, per media reports. That's especially amazing considering Korean companies have long traded at a discount to their global peers. That valuation gap is called the Korea Discount. Investors often cite factors such as complex corporate governance structures, low shareholder returns, regulatory uncertainty, and geopolitical risks related to North Korea to justify why companies from that country don't command higher share prices. But SK Hynix clearly isn't suffering from the Korea Discount and that's because SK Hynix makes memory chips, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM). HBM is a key component of AI GPUs processors. And right now, Nvidia relies on SK Hynix as one of its primary suppliers. Per its filing, the money raised from eager US investors will go to three places: a new fab in South Korea (being built now to address the worldwide shortage of memory cause by AI); a new packaging facility in that country; and EUV scanners, the machines that make next-generation chips possible. Meanwhile, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stopped by a Micron event Thursday with a message for the broader chip industry, not just for US memory maker Micron (who is one of SK Hynix's biggest competitors). Lutnick reportedly said he's already in talks with Samsung (the third major memory maker, worldwide) and SK Hynix about building new factories in the U.S. The idea being not to let South Korea continue to be the country that dominates this important tech. Micron, naturally, is in. It announced it plans to invest $250 billion in new US manufacturing, a commitment the U.S. memory chip company says will create more than 90,000 jobs and keep leading-edge chip production on American soil. The timing of Lutnick's request is notable beyond this US IPO for SK Hynix: both Korean chipmakers just pledged more than $550 billion for new manufacturing investment in South Korea.

US investors will soon get access to SK Hynix, another memory maker riding the AI boom

South Korean memory chip maker SK Hynix, rival to Samsung and U.S.-based Micron, is planning to sell nearly 17.8 million shares in a U.S. IPO, the company said on Monday. Should its shares sell well (and there's indication that they will), the company could raise around $28 billion, based on SK Hynix's closing share price last Friday in Seoul, Bloomberg reports. SK Hynix will be offering American depositary receipts (ADRs), a type of certificate that lets U.S. investors buy a foreign stock without trading directly on an overseas exchange. Each ADR will represent a tenth of a common share. It is expected to price those securities on Thursday and begin trading on Friday. Like Micron, SK Hynix is riding an AI-fueled boom credited to AI in both sales and stock price. Its first quarter revenues were up nearly 200% over the same quarter last year, it said, and its stock is up about 260% so far this year. This is because systems that run AI are very memory intensive. As hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Oracle race to build out so-called AI factories, and as new AI data centers multiply nationwide, demand has outpaced supply, creating a shortage of memory chips -- including High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), DRAM, and NAND (the different types of chips that store and move data inside AI systems). The situation has been called "RAMageddon." Apple executives said the shortage is forcing it to raise prices on Mac computers and iPads. South Korean tech companies, led by SK Hynix and Samsung, have vowed to spend over $550 billion on building out new manufacturing capacity to keep up. That's actually a risky venture. By the time those facilities are built, memory needs for AI may change, leaving them with more supply than the market wants and, potentially, crashing prices. But for now, Wall Street is looking for another Nvidia and memory chip makers are among the closest options that they have. Micron, the closest U.S. comparison, has shot up nearly 700% over the past year to a more than $1 trillion valuation, fueled by record AI-driven memory demand and revenue.

Nvidia's biggest RAM supplier just had a trillion-dollar debut on Wall Street

As the AI boom boosts demand for RAM, SK Hynix - one of the world's biggest suppliers of memory chips - launched on Wall Street Friday. The South Korean chipmaker opened at $170 per share and raised $26.5 billion, surpassing Alibaba's record as the largest debut of a foreign company, according to reports from Associated Press and CNN. After reaching a $1 trillion valuation in May, SK Hynix briefly overtook Samsung as South Korea's most valuable company. SK Hynix is one of three major companies benefitting from a surge in demand for DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM). These components have become essential for the widespread buildout of AI data centers, as tech giants like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google use DRAM for the servers to power their AI models, while HBM comes packaged inside high-end AI chips like Nvidia's Blackwell Ultra. As of June 2026, SK Hynix makes up 29 percent of the global DRAM market, with Samsung at 38 percent and Micron at 22 percent, according to data from Counterpoint. The three giants still can't keep up with memory demand as they continue to prioritize high-paying AI customers over device makers who need the chips for phones, computers, consoles, and more. SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won said in June that the company plans to ramp up its memory chip capacity over the next five years to address a shortage that could last until 2030, Bloomberg reports.

SK hynix raises a record $26.5 billion in historic U.S. IPO -- South Korean memory giant to fund massive HBM manufacturing expansions

SK hynix has completed the largest-ever foreign company IPO in U.S. history, raising $26.5 billion in its Nasdaq debut today, July 10. The South Korean memory giant sold 177.9 million American depositary receipts (ADRs) -- a U.S.-listed stand-in for a foreign share -- at $149 apiece, each representing a tenth of a Seoul-listed share. The offering was more than seven times oversubscribed and drew demand from more than 500 investment firms, according to Financial Times. Temporary Nasdaq trading is underway under the ticker SKHYV before regular-way trading begins as SKHY on Monday, July 13. The offering was led by Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan, with nine additional firms rounding out a 13-bank syndicate. Anchor demand came from heavyweight institutions including Baillie Gifford, Coatue Management, and Situational Awareness Partners, which together signaled interest in as much as $7 billion of stock, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Financial Times. SK hynix is the world's leading maker of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the vertically stacked DRAM that has become critical infrastructure for AI accelerators. The company has said it will steer the proceeds toward boosting its AI-memory manufacturing capacity. Confirmed build-outs include the first-phase fab at the massive Yongin semiconductor cluster, a new P&T7 advanced-packaging line in Cheongju, and EUV lithography equipment slated for delivery by the end of next year. Separately, SK hynix is constructing its first U.S. production site, a $4 billion advanced-packaging plant in West Lafayette, Indiana, targeted for completion around 2028. The facility is eligible for up to $458 million in CHIPS Act grants and up to $570 million in federal loans. SK hynix is seeing sensational growth thanks to the ongoing AI boom. The company is reportedly on track to post over 200 trillion won ($133 billion) in operating profit this year, a record-breaking figure that would see SK hynix employees earn around $400,000 each in bonuses. The company's Seoul-listed stock is up roughly 220% year-to-date and has climbed more than sixfold over the past year. In late June, SK hynix briefly surpassed Samsung as South Korea's most valuable company, closing at around 2,080 trillion won (about $1.35 trillion), a meteoric rise for a company that almost declared bankruptcy in 2001 and, more recently, recorded an annual operating loss of 7.73 trillion won in 2023. That rise doesn't seem like it will be slowing down any time soon. SK hynix has said its entire 2026 output of HBM, DRAM, and NAND is already sold out, with the crunch expected to extend into 2027. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.

SK Hynix's jumbo share sale a sign of overheated times

South Korea dominates the market for memory chips -- but it's the US that is the land of capital-raising opportunity. Korean group SK Hynix has turned to New York for its sale this week of around $28bn in American depositary receipts. The proceeds will help fund its enormous AI-related investment plans. And the price at which the ADRs trade will be a useful gauge of how exuberant the AI landscape has become. The deal is the biggest ever share sale in the US by a foreign company, surpassing Alibaba's $25bn float in 2014. The sale size, as well as some jitters about the rush of AI-related investment, have contributed to a roughly one-quarter fall in the chipmaker's Seoul shares in the past fortnight. AI believers may shrug: the stock has been swinging wildly for months, having moved over 5 per cent in either direction on over 50 occasions this year -- and has still managed to more than triple. Investor demand for the US sale has been hot. The shares were seven times oversubscribed, and in a sign of high demand among active traders, several fund managers had already sought approval for leveraged products that would amplify returns from the ADRs' daily moves. Enthusiasm, too, could stem from long-term investors thinking that the Korean memory group looks cheap compared with homegrown chip champions. American peer Micron trades on six times its forecast 2028 earnings according to Visible Alpha -- the year analysts generally expect revenue from the current boom to peak -- while in Seoul, SK Hynix and its crosstown rival Samsung Electronics are each on a multiple of four. That gap is unlikely to narrow as a result of the US shares. SK Hynix's deal is big, but it represents less than 3 per cent of a $1tn market value. Both Koreans suffer from their size: combined they account for just over half of South Korea's entire market capitalisation. Big investors' limits on concentration mean they can't usually hold enough of either company's equity to fully reflect that heft. In theory, SK Hynix's US and Korean shares should trade at the same value, but practice suggests otherwise. Fellow chip boom beneficiary TSMC is the standout example. Typically, an ADR would trade no more than 5 per cent above or below the underlying stock, according to Goldman Sachs analysts. Some friction comes from exchange rates, local exchange rules and costs, and timezone differences. The rest should, in theory, be arbitraged away. Yet the Taiwan titan's US securities, worth about a fifth of its $2tn market value, have persistently traded above its hometown stock and often by 20 per cent or more in the past three years. The option to swap its US ADRs for shares in Taipei -- but not vice versa -- is one reason. Another attraction is that US trading is also far more liquid. Like TSMC, SK Hynix is likely to be quickly included in multiple indices, supporting demand for the ADRs. Perhaps it will be some comfort to those with longer time horizons that market anomalies don't last for ever: TSMC's premium reached similar peaks in 2009 as smartphone demand boomed, but two years later, shrank to zero. SK Hynix's new US stock might be better as a means of measuring the AI craze than investing in it.

SK Hynix shares slide 10% in Seoul after stellar Nasdaq debut

SK Hynix shares tumbled more than 10% in Seoul on Monday after the chipmaker's strong Nasdaq debut Friday, as investors locked in profits and weighed whether surging demand for artificial intelligence memory chips can justify the stock's lofty run. The South Korean memory-chip maker had jumped 13% in its Wall Street debut on Friday, reflecting strong appetite from U.S. investors for AI-linked semiconductor stocks. The decline on Monday reflects a mix of profit-taking and uncertainty over how the U.S.-listed shares should be valued relative to the Korean stock, with analysts saying the ADR debut has effectively created a new benchmark for investors to assess the company's valuation. "Everybody's really confused about what's going to happen to the memory demand and where the fair price is," Daniel Yoo, global strategist at Yuanta Securities, said on "Squawk Box Asia." "It's all about how much demand is there versus how much supply is going to come in ... [and] what kind of multiple you will be getting." Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s U.S.-listed ADRs trade at a roughly 13% to 14% premium to its domestic shares, Yoo pointed out, adding that SK Hynix's sharp move has created a discount rate of more than 20% between its U.S. and Korean listings. Yoo said the sell-off was also driven by the mechanics of the offering, calling it "additional share issuance" that increased the supply of stock available to investors. "The market is taking this as a correctional period for SK Hynix domestically." The pullback was likely to prove temporary as structural AI demand continues to outpace supply, he said, adding that shares will likely move "in the right direction" over the next six to 12 months despite near-term volatility. Phillip Wool, chief research officer at Rayliant Global Advisors, also downplayed the recent weakness in Asian AI hardware names, describing it as a portfolio rebalancing exercise rather than a deterioration in the industry's outlook. "I think it's mostly risk management," Wool said, noting that many investors had accumulated outsized positions in South Korean and Taiwanese AI chipmakers after their strong gains. "Prudent risk management suggests you have to scale those back." He added that the selling "doesn't really speak to any sort of reduction in the excitement about AI hardware." Wool said the AI investment was broadening beyond semiconductors, but that should continue to benefit memory suppliers such as SK Hynix.

SK Hynix hits the U.S. stock market as demand for memory chips soars amid AI frenzy

SK Hynix, one of the world's largest makers of memory chips, is hitting the U.S. stock market at a time when demand for its chips is far outpacing its ability to make them thanks to the frenzy over artificial intelligence. The company is already one of the largest in South Korea, along with Samsung Electronics, and is traded publicly on Seoul's Kospi index. Even with a recent pullback, the Kospi is up 77% so far this year and SK Hynix shares have more than tripled. SK Hynix priced its American depositary receipts, or ADRs, at $149 each Thursday. At that price, the offering of 177.9 million ADRs raised proceeds of $26.5 billion, making it the biggest-ever initial share sale in the U.S. by a foreign company. The shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq later Friday. The company has a dominant position globally for high bandwidth memory, which is essential for the development of advanced AI technology. SK Hynix recently entered a partnership with Wall Street's most valuable company, Nvidia, for advanced memory chips as AI infrastructure expands globally. Increasing demand for AI has been driving a surge in profits for chipmakers. Memory chips have become more expensive as demand outpaces supply along with the advancement of artificial intelligence technology. Technology giant Apple recently announced an increase in prices for Macs and iPads because of the jump in price for memory chips. The U.S. is the SK Hynix's largest market, accounting for 68.8% of its revenue last year. It is planning an expansion that includes building its first U.S. production facility, located in Indiana. Overall, the company had revenue of just under $65 billion in 2025. That helped profits double to about $28 billion. The company recently joined with Samsung and the government in announcing plans to invest a combined 800 trillion won ($518 billion) in building a new computer chipmaking hub in South Korea's southwest region, part of national efforts to expand investment beyond the greater Seoul metropolitan area, the country's economic center and heart of its semiconductor sector. The promise of growing profits has catapulted stock prices within the tech sector, particularly for chipmakers. Micron Technology's stock value more than tripled in 2025 and is on pace to more than triple again in 2026. Nvidia's stock had similar growth several years ago and notched more relatively modest gains in 2025. Big chipmakers have become the most valuable and influential companies on Wall Street. Their high stock values give them outsized influence over Wall Street and major indexes have been setting records mostly because of the tech sector. Shares in SK Hynix traded in Seoul slipped 0.3% on Friday.

SK Hynix raises $26.5bn in US market debut

SK Hynix has raised $26.5bn in its Nasdaq debut, marking the largest-ever US listing by a foreign company as AI drives rocketing demand for the South Korean group's memory chips. The company's American depositary shares priced at $149 per ADS, a slight premium to SK Hynix's closing share price in Seoul on Thursday. The offering was seven times oversubscribed, with more than 500 investment firms vying for shares, according to two people familiar with the matter. Earlier in the week investment firms Situational Awareness -- led by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner -- as well as Baillie Gifford and Coatue indicated they could take as much as $7bn of the offering. One of the people familiar with the deal said the firms' final allocation was reduced because of the high demand. The share sale adds to a bumper summer for Wall Street, which has roared back to life on the back of a flurry of huge tech deals. Elon Musk's SpaceX raised about $86bn last month, while Google parent Alphabet moved to pull in a similar amount. Bank of America, JPMorgan, Citi and Goldman Sachs are the lead underwriters on SK Hynix's deal and could rake in fees of more than $140mn. Rising prices for SK Hynix's memory chips helped its first-quarter revenue nearly triple year on year to Won 52.6tn ($34.5bn). Its shares are up more than 600 per cent over the past year on the Kospi in Seoul, its main listing, bringing its market cap to Won 1,558tn. SK Hynix will pour the proceeds into expanding its manufacturing capacity as it races to keep pace with AI-driven demand. The company is building new chip fabrication plants in Korea and purchasing extreme-ultraviolet lithography scanners from the Netherlands' ASML. As the leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to Nvidia, the group has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom, outpacing larger rival Samsung Electronics to capture more than half of the global HBM market. HBM chips enable the high-speed transfer of the vast amounts of data required for AI workloads. Analysts expect the US listing to boost SK Hynix's valuation and narrow its discount to global peers such as Micron. Kim Dong-won, head of research at KB Securities, said SK Hynix's Korean-listed shares were poised for a re-rating, and currently traded at 4.5 times forward earnings. Kim forecasts the group will turn an operating profit of Won290tn this year, rising to Won468tn next year. "There is still considerable upside potential," Kim said. "The chip rally isn't over yet."

Meet SK Hynix, the trillion-dollar South Korean chipmaker debuting on U.S. markets

SK Hynix is building a $4 billion production facility in Indiana and growing its Solidigm business near Sacramento, California. U.S. investors are getting a new way to buy into the memory boom. SK Hynix, the second most valuable company in South Korea, behind only Samsung, is slated to begin trading on the Nasdaq on Friday. The market debut, coinciding with the company's hefty expansion plans for the U.S., comes after a more than sevenfold increase in its stock price over the past year, a rally that's lifted SK Hynix's market cap to about $1 trillion. Many Americans don't know the name SK Hynix, but they've likely had plenty of exposure to the company's products. Along with Micron and Samsung, SK Hynix is one of three primary makers of computer memory used in laptops and phones sold by companies such as Apple and Dell. Memory has long occupied a sleepy corner of the semiconductor market. That's changed dramatically over the last couple years as surging demand for artificial intelligence has upended the industry, creating severe shortages for the chips and sending prices to all-time highs. SK Hynix is the leader in the high-performance memory that's used in AI chips from Nvidia, the world's most valuable company. While memory components are typically relatively simple chips, often called RAM, that every computer needs to store data, high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is more complicated, as it stacks many layers of traditional memory together. SK Hynix was the first to do it, and analysts project the company will capture more than half the market this year. In June, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited SK Hynix on a trip to Seoul, as the two companies announced a multiyear partnership. Nvidia is the biggest HBM buyer. "That advantage has positioned SK Hynix as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the rapid growth in AI infra," said TrendForce analyst Ellie Wang. SK Hynix will trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol SKHY (initially SKHYV.) The company plans to raise around $29 billion by issuing American depositary receipts (ADRs) in order to fund new factories and equipment, according to a regulatory filing. Some of that buildout is taking place in the U.S. SK Hynix is constructing its first production facility in the country, scheduled for completion in 2028. The $4 billion plant in West Lafayette, Indiana, will be used for what's known as advanced packaging, an essential part of the process for producing HBM that involves connecting and stacking individual chips into larger systems that can be used in a computer. SK Hynix expects to receive up to $458 million in funding from the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, passed in 2022 as the centerpiece of a plan to build up the domestic chip industry. The company could also receive up to $570 million of loans from the U.S. Commerce Department. It's not just HBM that's boosting SK Hynix. The whole memory industry is experiencing soaring prices due to the AI crunch, which means there's also a shortage for traditional memory needed for phones, tablets, PCs, cars, medical devices and other products. Profit margins are hitting record levels. More than three-quarters of SK Hynix's revenue comes from RAM, including HBM. The company also makes NAND flash, or hard drives, and is the market leader, with 19% share in the first quarter, according to IDC. SK Hynix's financials are as eye-popping as its stock price. Annual revenue almost tripled from 2023 to 2025, when sales reached about $65 billion. For 2026, analysts polled by LSEG expect that number to more than triple again to about $235 billion. The company's path to the Nasdaq hasn't been a consistent track up and to the right. SK Hynix was founded in 1983 as Hyundai Electronics, a subsidiary of Korean conglomerate Hyundai. In 1997, during a financial crisis, it merged with LG Semicon as memory prices were slumping from a supply glut. Four years later, the company rebranded as Hynix Semiconductor, and then became SK Hynix when SK Telecom purchased a controlling stake in 2012. As of March 31, according to the SEC filing, SK Square, "which was demerged from SK Telecom in 2021, held a 20.5% interest in us." Betting on memory booms has proven risky due to the cyclical nature of the business. Big tech shifts like the dot-com frenzy, the growth of smartphones, or the transition from packaged software to the cloud have brought huge demand for memory to power new devices. That's often led to oversupply, followed by a collapse in prices. The concern is pervasive today given the hypergrowth of AI. But the industry is trying to prepare for whatever volatility is to come. SK Hynix, along with Micron and Samsung, are implementing long-term contracts for memory, using their market power to lock in prices and orders years into the future. In the past, memory companies often sold their supply on a quarterly or annual basis. Companies of all sizes, including giants like Apple, are scrambling to secure memory. "These agreements typically require customers to provide longer-term demand visibility," said TrendForce's Wang, allowing SK Hynix to plan its spending with more confidence. Daniel Newman, an analyst and Futurum Group, said investors have to weigh the risks of buying in at these levels, knowing what they know about the past. "This is how memory always acts in any megacycle or supercycle," Newman said. "The problem is, it always crashes hard." But, Newman added, if AI demand stays high in the years ahead, memory companies like SK Hynix are a bargain. Industry experts say that AI needs increasing amounts of memory in order to operate without hitting "the memory wall," and memory vendors say the shortage won't subside until at least 2027. SK Hynix is banking on it. In South Korea, SK Hynix is planning to spend up to $720 billion on expanding facilities to meet memory demand for AI, according to the company. One cluster of chip fabrication plants in Yongin, just south of Seoul, will cost $390 billion. The company is speeding up the timeline for the project by more than a decade, with four fabs now scheduled for completion by 2033. Elsewhere in South Korea, SK Hynix is expanding its production facilities in Cheongju, and developing a new cluster of fabs in the southwestern region of the country. The factories require that SK Hynix shell out large amounts of capital for crucial chipmaking equipment known as extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, which are necessary for etching the advanced circuitry needed to make and stack advanced chips like HBM. They're hard to come by, cost up to $400 million and are only made by ASML in the Netherlands. SK Hynix plans to spend around $7.8 billion on new EUV machines by the end of 2027, according to the company's filing with the SEC.. "If you go to Korea they are building lots of fabs," said MS Hwang, research director at Counterpoint. "But it takes time. The earliest time frame that they can bring out manufactured wafers is end of 2027." In the U.S., SK Hynix has big expansion plans on top of its Indiana project. The company said in January that it had set aside $10 billion to make investments for what it's calling AI Company, an effort to find new product lines and back U.S. businesses. AI Company's biggest component is Solidigm. That business makes NAND flash memory and was purchased from Intel in 2021 for $9 billion. It's now headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California, near Sacramento, where it develops new products, like solid state drives that can store more data. The bulk of the action is still back home. "Everybody is coming," said Hwang, referring to companies swarming to South Korea to sign big contracts. Hwang said word on the street is that nearby hotels are "fully booked" as cloud companies and chipmakers "are all lining up to sign a long-term contract." Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

South Korea chip maker SK hynix rides AI boom raising $26.5bn in huge US listing

SK hynix, a supplier of advanced memory chips, has seen profits skyrocket thanks to the global race to build AI datacentres South Korean chip maker SK hynix set pricing for its mega US listing on Friday, aiming to raise $26.5bn as it takes advantage of the AI boom in what will be one of the world's biggest ever stock sales. The Asian semiconductor giant plans to issue the equivalent of about 18m shares on Wall Street's tech-heavy Nasdaq index later in the day. SK hynix, a supplier of advanced memory chips to industry behemoth Nvidia, has seen profits skyrocket thanks to the global race to build artificial intelligence datacentres. Tech stocks have tumbled in recent weeks on fears of overheated valuations - SK hynix has soared more than 220% this year in Seoul - and concerns about when the enormous global AI spending will reap returns. But Friday's Nasdaq listing has enjoyed considerable interest, and was more than seven times oversubscribed, according to US media. The amount raised did not come close to the record $75bn raised in SpaceX's IPO last month, which made founder Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire. But it beat out Saudi Aramco's 2019 $25.6bn debut and the $21.8bn raised by Chinese tech firm Alibaba in its New York initial public offering. SK hynix will list through something called American depositary shares (ADS), which allow slices of foreign companies to be traded on US public markets. The company said 177.9m depositary shares, each representing one-tenth of a usual share, had been set "at an initial public offering price of $149.00 per ADS". The offering is being led by BofA Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs (Asia) and JP Morgan Securities, SK hynix said. SK hynix shares rose 2.7% on Seoul's Kospi index after the announcement. The company's market capitalisation on the Kospi soared past $1tn in May. That milestone was also recently hit by domestic rival Samsung Electronics and US chip maker Micron - with AI pushing the three firms into a previously exclusive club of about a dozen $1tn companies, nearly all American. An image of an SK hynix jacket went viral in South Korea this year as a symbol of wealth and success, with parody posts depicting it as a "golden ticket" to luxury boutiques or better dating prospects. Samsung, SK hynix and Micron dominate the global market for the advanced components known as high-bandwidth memory (HBM), used in AI servers alongside other data-crunching semiconductors. As chip makers plough resources into lucrative HBM, shortages of the less flashy memory chips in consumer electronics are pushing up prices, with Apple hiking the cost of its MacBooks and iPads. Counterpoint Research analyst MS Hwang said SK hynix wants to triumph over Samsung in the memory chip market. "Along with the HBM leadership it has demonstrated until recently, the company is now planning to take the lead in terms of volume as well," Hwang told AFP. "Funds from its US listing can support such a goal." SK hynix said Friday it plans to use the proceeds from the offering to fund construction of the first fabrication hub at a new semiconductor cluster in Yongin near Seoul, and to build an advanced packaging facility in the central city of Cheongju, among other projects. The company, along with Samsung, is also involved in a massive public-private investment of 800tn won to build a new chip hub in southwest South Korea. The AI chip boom has fuelled debate about what South Korea should do with the tax windfall, as well as workers' demands over pay packages - with Samsung averting a strike by agreeing a deal on bonuses.

Hedge fund run by ex-OpenAI researcher bets on SK Hynix's US IPO

An ex-OpenAI researcher's hedge fund and UK investor Baillie Gifford have signalled they could take a large chunk of South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix's $28bn share sale in New York this week. The Nasdaq initial public offering for the South Korean group, formally launched on Monday, comes as the building of AI data centres drives rocketing demand for memory chips. It is set to be one of the largest ever listings by an Asian company in New York. AI demand drove SK Hynix's revenues up 47 per cent to Won 97.1tn ($63bn) in 2025 while profit more than doubled to Won 42.9tn ($28bn). In the first quarter, revenue nearly tripled year-on-year to Won 52.6tn ($34.5bn). The rising demand for SK Hynix's memory chips has sent its shares up more than 750 per cent over the past year on the Kospi in Seoul, its main listing, bringing its market cap to Won 1,663tn ($1.1tn). Investment firms Situational Awareness, Baillie Gifford and Coatue indicated they could take as much as $7bn of the American depositary shares (ADS) that SK Hynix plans to sell in an additional listing on Nasdaq. The US shares are set to start trading on Friday in New York. Hedge fund Situational Awareness, founded by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, has made a series of prescient bets on stocks linked to AI, attracting a large following among retail investors. SK Hynix will pour the $28bn in proceeds from the US share sale into expanding its manufacturing capacity as it races to keep pace with AI-driven demand. The bulk of the funds are earmarked for building chip fabrication plants in Korea, while a portion will also go towards purchasing EUV lithography scanners -- the advanced machines made by the Netherlands' ASML that are essential to producing cutting-edge memory. SK Hynix and fellow South Korean memory giant Samsung last week announced a $600bn plan to significantly expand their manufacturing capacity in the country as customers clamour for more output. A global memory chip shortage triggered by huge demand for advanced high-bandwidth memory (HBM) in AI data centres has lifted the shares of the three main global players, SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron. The trio have all surpassed $1tn valuations this year. SK Hynix has managed to leapfrog Samsung to take the lead in HBM technology. It was the first to develop HBM3, which quickly became the preferred memory technology to use alongside the AI accelerators that power frontier AI models. SK Hynix emerged as the primary supplier to Nvidia, cornering roughly half of the global HBM market. SK Hynix said it would issue 17.79mn new shares, equal to about 2.5 per cent of its stock, in the form of ADS listed on Nasdaq. The size of the offering was set to ensure that its controlling shareholder, the SK Group holding company SK Square, retains more than a 20 per cent stake. Bankers will set the ADS price based on its Kospi-listed share price, which on July 3 equated to about $158 per ADS. Underwriters leading the deal include Bank of America, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.

How SK Hynix just pulled off the second-largest U.S. share sale by quietly powering the AI boom | Fortune

The listing gives U.S. investors direct access to a chipmaker that's closely tied to the AI boom, making the specialized memory chips that sit inside almost every Nvidia processor, and now command high prices amid a major shortage. "We've announced plans to double production capacity within five years, but every customer says, 'That's still not enough -- we need more'," SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won told CNBC on Friday, the day of the listing. SK Hynix's shares, currently traded in Korea, have surged more than 630% over the past 12 months, pushing its market value past $1 trillion, only the second Korean company to hit that milestone after Samsung Electronics. Yet SK Hynix, like many other Korean companies, suffers from what's been called the "Korea Discount," where shares are traded at a discount compared to global peers -- and, at worst, trade below book value. U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology, for example, boasts a $1.1 trillion valuation, despite SK Hynix being significantly more profitable. Analysts tend to blame the country's chaebols -- the vast family-controlled conglomerates that dominate the economy -- for corporate governance practices that prioritize group cohesion over shareholder returns. SK executives argue the U.S. listing will attract global investors who cannot easily access the Korean market. Analysts at HSBC estimate that the listing of SK Hynix American depository receipts could lift the chipmaker's valuation by as much as 20%. From bailouts to AI dominance SK Hynix's path to a U.S. listing was long and troubled. The company was founded in 1983 as Hyundai Electronics, a division of the larger Hyundai Group. After the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 left the Korean semiconductor sector dangerously overextended, Seoul pressed the industry to consolidate. Hyundai absorbed LG Semiconductor and renamed the merged entity Hynix, a portmanteau of "high" and "electronics." The LG merger loaded Hynix with debt. The company required bailouts from both creditors and the Korean government, was spun off by Hyundai in 2003, and spent nearly a decade as an independent company before the SK Group, South Korea's second-largest conglomerate, acquired it in 2012. The path for Hynix's eventual boom came in 2013, when the company co-developed the world's first high-bandwidth memory chip with U.S. chip designer AMD. At the time, HBM was a niche product, yet SK Hynix continued to invest in it. When the AI boom arrived and processor companies realized they needed HBM to quickly train large language models at speed, SK Hynix had a decade-long lead on its competitors Samsung and Micron. HBM can deliver much more bandwidth than conventional dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), making the chips perfect for the processing demands of AI model training. Every major AI processor contains HBM chips, and most of those are supplied by SK Hynix. The company controls roughly 60% of the global HBM market by revenue. "What I really wanted to accomplish when we acquired Hynix was to transform it from a commodity memory producer into a mainstream semiconductor company whose products are indispensable," Chey wrote in a book published in January. "If SK Hynix's HBM is replaced with another product, the AI system may not function ⁠properly. What used to be a peripheral component has become a core component." SK Hynix reported 97.1 trillion won ($64.1 billion) in revenue in 2025, a record for the company and much higher than the revenue reported the year before (which was, itself, a record). It also reported net income of 42.9 trillion won ($28.3 billion), implying a net profit margin of 44%. The company has now become a key source of talent for other semiconductor companies. Last month, Intel appointed Lee Seok-hee, SK Hynix's former CEO, as the new leader for its chipmaking Foundry division, reporting directly to CEO Lip Bu-Tan. How SK Hynix is helping drive a Korean rally South Korea's KOSPI is one of the world's best-performing market indices, rising 135% in the past 12 months. Yet that rise is almost entirely due to two companies: SK Hynix and its chipmaking peer, Samsung Electronics. Together, the two firms make up more than half of the KOSPI's total market capitalization. The country's stock market is also intensely volatile. The exchange has tapped its circuit-breaker mechanism -- which is triggered when the KOSPI falls by more than 8% -- six times this year so far. In April, South Korea's government approved the creation of single-stock leveraged ETFs -- products that deliver twice the daily return of an individual stock -- to keep retail investors from chasing these same bets offshore. In Hong Kong, a leveraged SK Hynix ETF managed by CSOP swelled to more than $17 billion in assets, overtaking the city's flagship Tracker Fund to become its largest ETF. South Korean regulators are already expressing regret about the leveraged ETFs. Lee Chan-jin, governor of South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, said publicly in June that he wished he had "laid down to protest the launch by any means necessary." The Bank of Korea warned that the ETFs risked deepening the market's already dangerous concentration in a handful of names. While leveraged ETFs are common in markets like the U.S., Korea's strict eligibility rules ensured that only Samsung and SK Hynix qualified for such funds -- in turn driving the country's retail investors, sometimes dubbed "ants," into just two stocks. Beyond chips, South Korea is also positioning itself as a global center for physical AI and robotics. Hyundai Motor Group, which owns U.S. robotics company Boston Dynamics, has seen its shares rise around 120% over the past year. Can Korea survive an AI boom? SK Hynix, along with Samsung and Micron, is benefiting from a shortage of memory chips. AI manufacturers are willing to pay top dollar for the limited supply for memory out there, lifting prices across the entire industry. Even lower-end memory chips are getting more expensive, forcing device manufacturers like Apple, Sony and Nintendo to hike prices to keep pace. "We forecast that next year will be the worst year in the industry's history from the supply perspective," SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung told Reuters on Friday. The AI boom is playing out in Korean society and politics as well, not just its stock markets. In late 2025, SK Hynix agreed to allocate 10% of its annual operating profits to employee bonuses. The first payout averaged around 140 million won ($93,000) per employee. If SK Hynix's profits keep increasing, so too will employee bonuses. (Samsung earlier this year also agreed to share operating profits with its chip workforce, which has irked those working in the company's other divisions.) That's helped increase the stature of chip workers in the dating scene, with Koreans joking that an SK Hynix jacket is the best thing to wear on a blind date. "If SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics employees used to be classified as B+ or A-grade candidates, today they are closer to A+," Son Dong-gyu, chief executive of matchmaking agency Bien Aller, told Reuters earlier this year. The Bank of Korea is less enthusiastic. In mid-June, the central bank warned that bonuses could have an inflationary effect. Peter Kim, global strategist at KB Financial Group, suggested in late June that empowered labor unions, seeking similar mega-bonuses, could be a new factor behind the "Korea Discount." "The agreement for profit-sharing on future profits is unprecedented, to the extent that it calls into question the long-term viability of such a pay structure in a CAPEX-intensive industry, where striking the capital allocation equilibrium between CAPEX/investments and dividends is an ongoing debate," he wrote. More broadly, Kim warned that Korea's government will need to grapple with "worsening social division" caused by bumper profits at chip companies -- and bumper bonuses for chip workers. South Korea's government is considering how it might spread the benefits of the AI boom across more of society. The country is exploring setting up a new investment vehicle backed by the additional tax revenue from Samsung and SK Hynix's booming profits. Last month, Samsung and SK Hynix jointly announced plans to invest 800 trillion won ($517 billion) with their suppliers to build two new semiconductor fabrication complexes in southwestern South Korea. Still, some analysts are skeptical that the memory shortage will last forever. Companies like SK Hynix are now hurriedly investing in more capacity, fostering the old boom-and-bust cycles that plagued chip revenues in the pre-ChatGPT era. "Demand outpaces supply initially as fresh capacity takes two to three years at the minimum to come online but often leads to oversupply in tail years as peak capacity is brought up at the moment demand tapers off," Morningstar analyst Jing Jie Yu wrote in late June, after Samsung and SK Hynix announced their 800 trillion won investment in new chip fabs.

Memory chip giant SK hynix bags $26.5B in blockbuster U.S. listing

South Korean memory chipmaker SK hynix Inc. has priced its American Depository Receipts at $149, raising around $26.5 billion ahead of its debut on the Nasdaq exchange tomorrow. The decision to list its shares on the American exchange is a strategic move that aims to tap into the enormous enthusiasm for artificial intelligence-related stocks. SK hynix is the world's top supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips, which are a critical component of the AI servers that power generative AI chatbots and agentic workloads. Bloomberg reported that demand for SK hynix's U.S. share sale exceeded the available number of shares by seven-times, citing a person familiar with details of the listing. The company has not commented publicly on the level of demand it saw for the sale. SK hynix's ADRs will begin trading on the Nasdaq from tomorrow under the "SKHY" ticker symbol. The price of the ADRs, which are a kind of certificate that makes it possible to trade foreign stocks without having to buy or sell them directly on an overseas exchange platform, is based on its current share price Seoul's Kospi index, where it's already traded. On Thursday, the stock closed at a price of 2,186,000 won (around $1,449) per share. 10 ADRs are equivalent to one common share. The $26.5 billion that SK hynix has pocketed means that the listing becomes the second-biggest share sale in history, surpassing Saudi Aramco's $25.6 billion IPO in 2019. SpaceX Corp., which went public last month, holds the record after raising a stunning $85.7 billion on its first day of trading. In its initial public offering prospectus, SK hynix said that the funds from the sale will be used to finance the construction of new chipmaking facilities and the purchase of the sophisticated equipment necessary for those factories. The raise should also help the chipmaker to narrow the valuation gap between itself and the U.S. memory chip manufacturer Micron Technology Inc., which has a larger market capitalization despite its lower market share in key memory product segments. Micron's stock price has soared beyond that of its rival, primarily because it's more accessible to the world's largest pool of investors. At present, Micron trades at a 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of 6.66 times, compared to just 5.5 times for SK hynix. Futurum Group analyst Daniel Newman told Bloomberg that SK hynix leads Micron in terms of its market share and its proximity to Nvidia Corp., the world's most dominant AI chipmaker. "But Micron competes on power efficiency, U.S. positioning and momentum from third place," the analyst said. SK hynix and Micron dominate the global market for memory chips alongside Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. All three specialize in manufacturing HBM chips, which are used to store the data that's computed by AI accelerators such as Nvidia's graphics processing units. While Samsung is the world's largest memory chip supplier in terms of its total shipment volume, SK hynix is considered to be the leader in the HBM segment. Last month, Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang emphasized the company's status, telling media that SK hynix will continue to be its "largest partner" for some time to come as the current global memory chip shortage is expected to persist for "a few years" due to the demand of the AI industry. SK hynix has seen its stock price decline recently following a turbulent few weeks that has impacted semiconductor firms more broadly. But it's still sitting on historic gains, up more than 239% in the year to date and more than 644% over the last 12 months. Those numbers are impressive, but SK hynix's stock gains have actually been outpaced by its growing profitability. It has made such enormous earnings that it's planning to give each employee an annual bonus of around $574,000. "SK hynix holds an edge in production scale and maturity," Ken Mahoney of Mahoney Asset Management LLC told Bloomberg. "Across the board, since demand is outweighing supply, they have had tremendous pricing power. Generally speaking, first mover advantage is and was their strength." Despite the U.S. listing, BNK Investment & Securities analyst Lee Min-hee said he does not expect a significant jump in SK hynix's local share price in Korea. That's because Korean companies tend to trade at lower valuations than their foreign counterparts due to concerns around corporate governance, he said.

Memory chip giant SK Hynix jumps nearly 13% in Wall Street debut as AI frenzy powers biggest initial share sale in the U.S. by a foreign company | Fortune

The company is already one of the largest in South Korea, along with Samsung Electronics, and is a member of the Kospi index. Even with a recent pullback, the country's Kospi index is up 77% so far this year and SK Hynix shares have more than tripled. SK Hynix priced its American depositary receipts, or ADRs, at $149 each Thursday. They opened Friday at $170 and closed at $168.01. The offering of 177.9 million ADRs raised proceeds of $26.5 billion, making it the biggest-ever initial share sale in the U.S. by a foreign company. An ADR is issued by a bank or broker and is a simplified way for U.S. investors to own foreign stocks through the U.S. markets. SK Hynix is going public in the U.S. amid a surge in IPO proceeds. There were 48 IPOs raising a total of $104.8 billion during the second quarter, according to Renaissance Capital. It is the biggest quarter for deal proceeds in five years, in large part because of SpaceX raising $75 billion. Many of the companies going public are capitalizing on the demand for all things AI. SK Hynix has a dominant position globally for high bandwidth memory, which is essential for the development of advanced AI technology. The company recently entered a partnership with Wall Street's most valuable company, Nvidia, for advanced memory chips as AI infrastructure expands globally. Increasing demand for AI has been driving a surge in profits for chipmakers. Memory chips have become more expensive as demand outpaces supply along with the advancement of artificial intelligence technology. Technology giant Apple recently announced an increase in prices for Macs and iPads because of the jump in price for memory chips. The U.S. is SK Hynix's largest market, accounting for 68.8% of its revenue last year. It is planning an expansion that includes building its first U.S. production facility, located in Indiana. Overall, the company had revenue of just under $65 billion in 2025. That helped profits double to about $28 billion. The company recently joined with Samsung and the government in announcing plans to invest a combined 800 trillion won ($518 billion) in building a new computer chipmaking hub in South Korea's southwest region, part of national efforts to expand investment beyond the greater Seoul metropolitan area, the country's economic center and heart of its semiconductor sector. The promise of growing profits has catapulted stock prices within the tech sector, particularly for chipmakers. Micron Technology's stock value more than tripled in 2025 and is on pace to more than triple again in 2026. Nvidia's stock had similar growth several years ago and notched more relatively modest gains in 2025. Big chipmakers have become the most valuable and influential companies on Wall Street. Their high stock values give them outsized influence over Wall Street and major indexes have been setting records mostly because of the tech sector. Shares in SK Hynix traded in Seoul slipped 0.3% on Friday.

SK Hynix Hits the U.S. Stock Market as Demand for Memory Chips Soars Amid AI Frenzy

SK Hynix, one of the world's largest makers of memory chips, is hitting the U.S. stock market at a time when demand for its chips is far outpacing its ability to make them thanks to the frenzy over artificial intelligence. The company is already one of the largest in South Korea, along with Samsung Electronics, and is traded publicly on Seoul's Kospi index. Even with a recent pullback, the Kospi is up 77% so far this year and SK Hynix shares have more than tripled. SK Hynix priced its American depositary receipts, or ADRs, at $149 each Thursday. At that price, the offering of 177.9 million ADRs raised proceeds of $26.5 billion, making it the biggest-ever initial share sale in the U.S. by a foreign company. The shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq later Friday. The company has a dominant position globally for high bandwidth memory, which is essential for the development of advanced AI technology. SK Hynix recently entered a partnership with Wall Street's most valuable company, Nvidia, for advanced memory chips as AI infrastructure expands globally. Increasing demand for AI has been driving a surge in profits for chipmakers. Memory chips have become more expensive as demand outpaces supply along with the advancement of artificial intelligence technology. Technology giant Apple recently announced an increase in prices for Macs and iPads because of the jump in price for memory chips. The U.S. is the SK Hynix's largest market, accounting for 68.8% of its revenue last year. It is planning an expansion that includes building its first U.S. production facility, located in Indiana. Overall, the company had revenue of just under $65 billion in 2025. That helped profits double to about $28 billion. The company recently joined with Samsung and the government in announcing plans to invest a combined 800 trillion won ($518 billion) in building a new computer chipmaking hub in South Korea's southwest region, part of national efforts to expand investment beyond the greater Seoul metropolitan area, the country's economic center and heart of its semiconductor sector. The promise of growing profits has catapulted stock prices within the tech sector, particularly for chipmakers. Micron Technology's stock value more than tripled in 2025 and is on pace to more than triple again in 2026. Nvidia's stock had similar growth several years ago and notched more relatively modest gains in 2025. Big chipmakers have become the most valuable and influential companies on Wall Street. Their high stock values give them outsized influence over Wall Street and major indexes have been setting records mostly because of the tech sector. Shares in SK Hynix traded in Seoul slipped 0.3% on Friday.

After a nearly 800% explosion, this AI supplier is about to make its U.S. debut and could signal if the market can still boom -- or is headed for a bust | Fortune

South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix isn't one of the Magnificent 7 stocks but is in a class of its own after pulling off a stunning rally on the back of the AI boom, and it's about to land on U.S. markets. Shares will list on the Nasdaq and are expected to start trading on Friday, raising about $29 billion in what could be the biggest-ever first-time share sale by a foreign company. That's after SK Hynix's Korean-listed stock has shot up 770% over the last 12 months, even after a 20% selloff from a peak in June. The surge even outpaces Micron Technology's 700% rally over the same time, with makers of memory chips emerging as critical enablers of AI agents. And SK Hynix is the top supplier of high-bandwidth memory after becoming Nvidia's favorite provider. While SK Hynix's U.S. stock listing won't be as big as SpaceX's $86 billion IPO last month, it could serve as a key barometer for the market. In fact, the Korean company has already sent ripples around the world. Comments from SK Hynix last month that it planned to slow down its AI memory business caused the high-flying Kospi stock index to suffer its fifth worst daily plunge ever. Global stock indexes followed, and strong earnings from Micron weren't enough to revive confidence. For analysts at Capital Economics, the big swings were especially worrisome, pointing out that such selloffs have previously only happened during bear markets like during the Asian financial crisis, the dot-com bubble, and the Great Financial Crisis. "This volatility is, in our view, evidence of excessive froth and calls into the question the sustainability of this rally," James Reilly, senior markets economist, wrote. Shares of SpaceX, which is also an AI company after acquiring xAI, has been similarly volatile since going public. The stock jumped in its initial trading sessions, then fell sharply and is back near its first-day closing price. Even bonds issued by SpaceX soon after the IPO quickly sold off, putting them at levels comparable to those of junk-rated borrowers, despite getting investment-grade ratings. The wobbles were another troubling sign about the market's direction and reportedly are factoring into OpenAI's IPO, which could be pushed out to 2027 instead of later this year. It wasn't supposed to be like this. With the U.S. and Iran finally ending hostilities, the path looked clear for the AI boom to reach even greater heights as oil prices and bond yields fell. But estimate-beating earnings reports and buoyant guidance -- which the 1990s tech bubble lacked -- haven't been enough to sustain bullishness as investors start to doubt whether profits will come in as strong as expected. Spending by the so-called hyperscalers has exploded so quickly that it could hit $1 trillion next year. As a result, cash flow is no longer sufficient to keep feeding the beast, prompting companies to issue bonds and fresh stock. For now, demand from Wall Street has been enough to meet the supply, but concerns are rising about the sustainability of relying so much on debt. Any slowdown in capital expenditures by hyperscalers could reshape the chip market. Their insatiable demand has caused shortages in consumer electronics, forcing Apple and other device makers to hike prices. To keep up with all the demand, SK Hynix will spend hundreds of billions of dollars for two new production plants in South Korea. But in an industry infamous for boom-and-bust cycles, that capacity could end up fueling oversupply. Analysts at Bank of America warned in a note on Tuesday that stocks are headed lower and reaffirmed their year-end S&P 500 target of 7,100, representing a 5% drop from the week's closing level. "Our bear market signposts suggest speculation is hitting extreme levels as high multiple stocks have gapped up demonstrably, an event that has historically preceded a valuation 'snapback,'" BofA said.

SK Hynix shares jump in marquee US debut as AI euphoria persists

SK Hynix's Nasdaq debut saw its shares jump significantly after a large share sale. This event signals strong investor enthusiasm for chip stocks amid the AI revolution. The company's offering was oversubscribed, meeting strong demand for AI-memory themes. SK Hynix is a leading maker of essential high-bandwidth memory chips for AI. This listing aims to close valuation gaps and provide access to a larger investor pool. SK Hynix's U.S.-listed shares jumped 14% in their Nasdaq debut following its $26.5 billion share sale, the latest indication that investor enthusiasm for chip stocks remains intact despite their recent pullback from a dizzying rally. The South Korean chipmaker is the latest to ride a frenzy of investor interest in firms perceived as reaping big gains from the AI revolution that has spawned hundreds of billions of dollars in capital spending. US MarketsPowered By As on 11 Jul 2026, 01:30 AM IST S&P 500 Top Gainers Meta Platforms669.21(5.97%) Weyerhaeuser23.45(4.22%) SBA Communications190.03(4.14%) NVIDIA210.96(4.03%) Gainers" S&P 500 Top Losers Moderna68.27(-10.83%) Coterra Energy32.56(-8.62%) CrowdStrike Holdings187.18(-5.66%) Datadog257.54(-4.26%) Losers" Chip stocks have lost some momentum in recent weeks after a stellar run, partly due to investor concerns about slower AI spending. SK Hynix shares have dropped a quarter from their record high hit two weeks ago. Even so, the company's stock is about 630% ⁠higher than ⁠a year ago. "Global semiconductors is the most crowded trade in the world right now," said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital in New York. "The bankers and the issuer, in this case SK Hynix, are meeting demand where it is. They're seeing excessive valuations, and they want to take advantage of it." SK Hynix's ADRs, ten of which equal one common share, opened at $170 apiece. The offer price was $149, which was a 2.7% premium to its average share price over the last three trading days in Seoul. "Demand for the US share sale has been stronger than some people might have expected. That implies the memory chip rally might have just taken a breath rather than peaked," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. BIG INVESTOR POOL The offering, the second-largest share sale in the U.S. after SpaceX's record IPO last ⁠month, will bring in funds for SK Hynix to build new factories and give the chipmaker direct access to the world's largest pool of investors. The offering was more than seven times oversubscribed, a source told Reuters on Thursday. "This is the purest large-cap way for U.S. investors to own the ⁠AI-memory theme, and Hynix deliberately picked Nasdaq to tap that demand and the higher valuations U.S. chip names command versus Seoul," said Giuseppe Sette, co-founder of investment analysis platform Reflexivity. "SK Hynix gets its deal done on the strength of the story, but companies coming after it may face a tougher, more selective market." The Icheon, South Korea-based company is the world's biggest maker of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, which are essential for the vast amounts of data processing in AI-focused graphics processing units (GPUs) produced by the likes of Nvidia and AMD. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won told Bloomberg TV that the company could offer memory-as-a-service to help address AI-related memory bottlenecks. The company aims to develop 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity outside South Korea, Chey said, adding that it was open to more U.S. investments. A big-tech splurge on these advanced processors has turned HBM chips into a scarce commodity, driving up prices and turning manufacturers into some of Wall Street's hottest bets, as investors view the industry as the "picks and shovels" suppliers to the AI boom. Micron, SK Hynix's U.S.-based competitor, has also rocketed 711% over the past 12 months. Analysts say SK Hynix's U.S. listing will help close a valuation disparity between the two companies by ⁠expanding its investor base and accessibility. Despite its HBM dominance, SK Hynix trades at around 5.8 times forward earnings versus Micron at around 7 times, according to LSEG data. Tech giants competing for faster and smarter AI models are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into the infrastructure powering the technology, raising equity and tapping debt markets to fund the costly expansion. Analysts expect that spending will continue to grow in the near term. Global cloud and AI infrastructure capital expenditure is expected to approach $1.5 trillion by 2027, a 40% to 50% jump year-over-year, according to a BofA Securities note this week. However, questions are growing about the returns on these massive investments, sparking worries that hyperscalers could eventually be forced into a spending slowdown. "Investors will weigh the strength of the past year's rally against this latest volatility... Oversupply fears are inherent to the industry," said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs.

SK Hynix debut is a bet that AI breaks boom-and-bust chip cycle

South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix just pulled off the largest public listing by a foreign company in U.S. market history. Shares soared 13% on their first day of trading. Behind this historic debut is a simple bet: that the artificial intelligence boom has fundamentally reshaped the decadeslong boom-and-bust cycle that's defined the memory-chip business for good. SK Hynix raised $26.5 billion with its American depositary receipt offering, and much of that is going toward expanding chip manufacturing -- a move the entire industry had for years resisted after being burned by past supply gluts. "We've always been a cyclical industry, so there had been prior ups and downs," SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung said. But "things have clearly changed." The ChatGPT era has brought about memory supply shortages so persistent that they're rippling across supply chains and raising the prices of everything from iPads to Xbox consoles.

SK Hynix Stock Makes Its U.S. Debut After Raising $26.5 Billion - SK Hynix (NASDAQ:SKHYV)

* SKHY stock is holding steady today. Where are SKHYV shares going? Record-Breaking U.S. Debut "That 3% premium is actually well within the expected range, especially given how massive the institutional appetite has been," said Sanghyun Park, founder of Clepsydra Capital. "It shows global funds are completely fine paying a bit of a toll to bypass local index and currency-related friction and get clean, direct exposure to the company's HBM monopoly." SK Hynix's HBM Lead Drives Surging AI‑Memory Growth SK Hynix is the world's leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory, the specialized chip used to power AI computing systems. More than three-quarters of the company's revenue comes from RAM, including HBM, with the remainder coming from NAND flash storage, where it holds roughly 19% global market share, CNBC reported. Annual revenue nearly tripled between 2023 and 2025, reaching around $65 billion, and analysts polled by LSEG expect that figure to more than triple again in 2026 to around $235 billion. Profit margins are hitting record levels as AI demand strains supply across the entire memory industry, including traditional memory used in phones, tablets, PCs, cars and medical devices. SKHYV Holds Steady as Shares Begin Trading SKHYV Price Action: SK Hynix shares were at $149.00 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro. Image: Golden Dayz/Shutterstock.com Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

SK Hynix seeks access to AI investors in $29 billion U.S. listing | Fortune

For years, the South Korea-based semiconductor manufacturer has traded at a discount to its chief US-based rival, Micron Technology Inc. Tapping into the world's deepest equity market and its frenzy for all things related to artificial intelligence could help change that at a time when the companies that make memory chips and other equipment used in AI data centers are driving the performance of the S&P 500 Index. "We are in a time of extreme enthusiasm about chip stocks," said Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust Co., which owns Micron shares. "It's a good time to go and get the US involved in your shares." Betting on SK Hynix has been difficult, if not impossible, for the majority of American investors. Like Micron, the second-best performer in the S&P 500 this year with a scorching 242% gain, the company is benefiting from soaring demand for high-bandwidth memory chips. But owning SK Hynix's South Korea-listed shares outright means off-hours trading in the US. The other alternative is buying unsponsored American depositary receipts, or ADRs, over the counter. Not only are the unsponsored ADRs performing worse than SK Hynix's South Korea shares, but liquidity is also severely limited, making trading them a challenge. SK Hynix's Nasdaq listing, which is expected on July 10, should change that and improve the company's lagging valuation. The South Korean firm trades at 6.2 times estimated earnings over the next 12 months. Micron is currently at 7 times after the shares tumbled 14% last week, their worst performance since March, but it was over 11 times as recently as June 22. "The offering targets investors who currently lack access to the Korean equity market," said Di Zhou, portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management, which owns SK Hynix shares. "SK Hynix's Nasdaq listing provides direct, frictionless exposure to one of the most compelling pure-plays on the AI memory cycle." Over the past 12 months, SK Hynix's Korea-listed shares and Micron's stock have gained about 700%, pushing both companies' market capitalizations above $1 trillion. The rallies are hardly unique among memory and storage companies. Sandisk Corp. is leading the S&P 500 in that time, soaring 3,676%, while Western Digital Corp. is up 719% and Seagate Technology Holdings Plc has jumped 449%. Overall, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index has gained 125% in the past 12 months and is coming off its best quarter ever. Good Times Roll But investors are increasingly nervous about how much longer the good times can last. The tech giants driving the bulk of the memory demand, including Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp., are increasingly turning to debt and equity markets to fund spending that until recently was coming from their cash piles. Those capital expenditures have sent memory chipmakers' profits through the roof. But if the spigot gets turned off, the whole dynamic will change. "Investors run the risk of stepping into something that's potentially a speculative bubble," said Ed O'Gorman, chief executive officer at River Wealth Advisors. "You have to be very careful investing in anything that's up the way these stocks have climbed." In the meantime, SK Hynix's ADRs will undoubtedly appeal to many US investors seeking more ways to bet on the biggest beneficiaries of AI spending. "There are a lot of people who don't own anything in this space, so it coming to market could draw people who have not bought in yet," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer and founder at Bokeh Capital Partners, which owns Micron shares. She plans to sit out the offering due to some of the discrepancies surrounding governance of ADR listings, but she expects plenty of her peers to line up for a piece. SK Hynix is projected to deliver 221 trillion won ($144 billion) in net income in 2026 on sales of 355 trillion won ($231 billion), up 415% and 265%, respectively, from 2025. Micron is expected to post an 876% surge in net income to about $83 billion in its current fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31, on a 247% leap in sales to $130 billion. In an effort to keep up with demand, SK Hynix is planning to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build two production plants in South Korea, as is rival Samsung Electronics Co. SK Hynix's offering will help fund those commitments. But adding capacity also raises the specter of a potential supply glut down the road if demand cools off. The memory industry is notorious for its boom and bust cycles. Just three years ago, Micron and SK Hynix lost money after a demand slump caused prices for memory chips to tumble. One clear benefit from the offering is it will provide SK Hynix with access to US equity indexes, which would result in buying from passively managed exchange-traded funds that track the benchmarks. For example, the Invesco QQQ Trust Series, better known by its ticker QQQ, tracks the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index and has $482 billion in assets. Arbitrage Opportunity Wall Street bulls point to the deeper pool of capital, the ability to trade the shares during regular market hours and an eventual addition to the Nasdaq 100 as reasons to be optimistic about the ADRs. What's more, the US listing will attract trading from hedge funds seeking to capitalize on arbitrage opportunities between valuation differences in the Nasdaq-listed ADRs and the Seoul-listed shares -- a playbook used in previous offerings by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. "Because of the cross-market structure, there will be potentially premiums and discounts between the pair," said Brendan Ahern, chief investment officer of KraneShares, which owns Micron stock. "That will bring in arbitrage players and enhance the stocks' liquidity." It's unclear if investors can freely exchange the SK Hynix ADRs for the Korean shares, a feature that could determine whether the price differences persist and how arbs will set up their trades. Full convertibility would allow investors to exchange the two securities and keep prices closely aligned, while restrictions could leave the US listing at a sustained premium. This dynamic is playing out with Taiwan Semiconductor, where the average premium of the ADRs over the local price is more than 21% in the last year and currently around 13%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Perhaps most importantly, investors will be focused on SK Hynix's ability to close its valuation gap with Micron. The offering may be attractive to US investors ranging from long-only portfolio managers seeking to increase exposure to the booming share prices of memory stocks as well as hedge funds that focus on IPOs and other types of equity issuance. Synovus Trust's Morgan, who holds a small amount of SK Hynix through over-the-counter depositary shares, is curious about the new ADRs but is taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to any purchases. "It's going to be a very hot issue," he said. "We're going to have to let it hit the tape and go from that."

SK Hynix makes US debut today. Will investors sell Micron to buy the AI memory leader?

SK Hynix begins US trading after a $26.5 billion ADR sale, expanding investor access to its AI memory chip business. The Nasdaq listing could narrow its valuation gap with Micron, while testing investor appetite for AI-linked semiconductor stocks. SK Hynix will begin trading in the US on Friday after a $26.5 billion share sale, giving American investors direct access to one of the biggest winners of the artificial intelligence boom. The listing comes at a tricky time for chip stocks. Semiconductor shares have pulled back in recent weeks after a sharp rally, as investors question whether AI spending can keep rising at the same pace. SK Hynix itself has fallen about 25% from a record high hit two weeks ago, though the stock is still up 650% over the past year. The South Korean chipmaker sold American Depositary Receipts at $149 each. The price was at a 2.7% premium to its average share price over the past three trading days. Ten ADRs equal one common share. SK Hynix shares rose 2.2% in Seoul on Friday to 2.233 million won. US MarketsPowered By As on 10 Jul 2026, 01:30 AM IST S&P 500 Top Gainers Hewlett Packard49.11(9.94%) Norwegian Cruise Line19.76(6.98%) Lam Research353.17(6.01%) Invesco28.61(5.85%) Gainers" S&P 500 Top Losers Coterra Energy32.56(-8.62%) APA33.29(-5.05%) Costco Wholesale912.97(-4.21%) Cincinnati Financial175.43(-3.38%) Losers" SK Hynix IPO The share sale is the second-largest in the US after SpaceX's record IPO last month. The proceeds will help SK Hynix build new factories and expand its access to the world's deepest investor pool. The company is the world's largest maker of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, chips. These chips are used in AI processors made by companies such as Nvidia and AMD. As Big Tech spends heavily on AI data centres, demand for HBM chips has surged and supply has remained tight. That has made SK Hynix one of the clearest plays on the AI memory cycle. The question now is whether US investors will buy SK Hynix at the expense of Micron, its American rival, which has already rallied 711% over the past 12 months. What analysts say about SK Hynix listing Analysts say the US listing could help narrow the valuation gap between the two companies. SK Hynix trades at about 5.8 times forward earnings, compared with Micron at about 7 times, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. A Nasdaq listing gives SK Hynix wider access to global funds that may have found it harder to buy the Seoul-listed stock. "This is the purest large-cap way for US investors to own the AI-memory theme, and Hynix deliberately picked Nasdaq to tap that demand and the higher valuations US chip names command versus Seoul," Giuseppe Sette, co-founder of investment analysis platform Reflexivity, told Reuters. Also Read: Global Market: European shares edge higher as miners, airlines offset tech weakness; benchmark set for weekly loss He added that SK Hynix was getting the deal done on the strength of its story, while companies coming after it may face a tougher and more selective market. The deal is also a test of whether investors are still willing to pay up for AI-linked companies after a year of huge gains. Chipmakers have been among the biggest beneficiaries of AI spending, as investors see them as key suppliers to the infrastructure buildout. "Global semiconductors is the most crowded trade in the world right now," Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital in New York, told Reuters. "The bankers and the issuer, in this case SK Hynix, are meeting demand where it is. They're seeing excessive valuations, and they want to take advantage of it," he said. AI investments to boom According to various reports, spending on AI infrastructure is still expected to grow. Global cloud and AI infrastructure capital expenditure may approach $1.5 trillion by 2027, a 40% to 50% year-on-year jump, according to a BofA Securities note cited by Reuters. Still, investors are starting to ask whether Big Tech will get enough returns from such massive spending. If returns disappoint, hyperscalers may slow down spending, which could hurt demand for AI chips and memory. Memory markets are also known for boom-and-bust cycles. A rush to add capacity can later create oversupply, putting pressure on prices and margins. For SK Hynix, the US debut gives it a bigger stage and a larger investor base. For Micron, it brings a new direct competitor for AI-memory money inside the US market. (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

AI Chipmaker SK hynix Secures $26.5 Billion to Boost Capacity | PYMNTS.com

The company's U.S. market debut followed a first quarter in which SK hynix saw its revenue nearly triple year over year to 52.6 trillion South Korean won (about $34.5 billion), driven by demand for its chips for use in artificial intelligence (AI), according to the report. On SK hynix's main listing, the Kospi in Seoul, the company's shares have leapt more than 600% over the past year, and its market cap has topped $1 trillion, per the report. Bloomberg reported Friday that SK hynix has a "dominant" position in the supply of the high-bandwidth memory needed for AI computing and that the company plans to use the proceeds of its U.S. offering to build additional capacity. Reuters reported Friday that the demand for AI has made high-bandwidth memory chips a "scarce commodity" and has driven up both the price of the products and investor interest in the products' manufacturers. The Reuters reported added that while there was a recent pullback in chip stocks, investors remain enthusiastic about the stocks due to the billions of dollars in capital spending that companies are devoting to AI. SK hynix said in a Friday press release that with its listing on the Nasdaq stock market, the company entered the heart of the global AI industry and capital markets and elevated its status as a global company. The company said that it offers the stable supply capabilities required by Big Tech customers and that the listing will broaden its global investor base and solidify its position as a "Core AI Partner." In remarks delivered Friday at the Nasdaq Opening Bell ceremony, SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung said high-bandwidth memory (HBM) "stands at the heart of the AI revolution" and that "SK hynix will be wherever AI is." It was reported in September that AI infrastructure spending by Big Tech is expected to surpass $2.8 trillion through 2029. Hyperscalers such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft have already spent billions to ease capacity constraints that have limited their ability to meet rising AI demand.

Micron vs. SK Hynix: Nvidia's Top AI Memory Suppliers Are Set for a Wall Street Showdown - Micron Technol

The listing gives U.S. investors direct access to SK Hynix alongside Micron, which has until now been the primary U.S.-listed pure-play memory company benefiting from the AI boom. Both companies have emerged as beneficiaries of the AI infrastructure buildout, with investors increasingly favoring suppliers of critical components over technology companies that are spending billions to develop AI capabilities. The South Korean chipmaker has established itself as one of NVIDIA's largest suppliers of AI memory chips. At the same time, Micron has expanded its presence by qualifying its latest memory products for NVIDIA's Blackwell platform. Futurum Equities Chief Market Strategist Shay Boloor said the listing gives U.S. investors "a second direct way to play the AI memory boom" alongside Micron. A Potential Record Debut Pricing is expected to be finalized later this week before trading begins on July 10, Reuters reported on Sunday. The company, which has a market capitalization of about $1.1 trillion, said it will use the proceeds to expand chip manufacturing and advanced packaging capacity as it ramps up production of next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips (HBM) to meet growing AI demand. SK Hynix briefly overtook Samsung Electronics last month to become South Korea's most valuable listed company, underscoring how investors have increasingly rewarded memory makers as AI infrastructure spending accelerates. Why Micron Investors Should Care SK Hynix's listing gives domestic investors unprecedented, liquid access to the world's reigning high-bandwidth memory king, which currently has a 58% global market share in advanced AI memory compared to Micron's 21%, according to data by Counterpoint Research. Samsung holds the remaining share. Shares of SK Hynix closed 3.38% lower on Monday in South Korea. AI Memory Trade Faces Its Next Test SK Hynix's Nasdaq debut comes days after a broad selloff in AI-related semiconductor stocks, as investors questioned whether years of aggressive spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure would translate into returns quickly enough. The pullback weighed on memory makers despite continued optimism around long-term demand. Benzinga edge rankings indicate MU has a Momentum score in the 99th percentile and a Growth score in the 85th percentile. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

Nasdaq debut 'historical moment,' expects huge AI investment - The Korea Times

Executives of the semiconductor and memory chip company SK hynix attend the company's opening bell ceremony at the Nasdaq market on the day of their IPO in New York City, U.S., July 10. Reuters-Yonhap WASHINGTON -- SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said Friday that South Korean chip giant SK hynix's debut on the tech-heavy Nasdaq is a "historical moment" and a "dream come true," expressing his expectation for the group's large-scale investment in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. Chey made the remarks during a CNBC interview after the chipmaker made its Nasdaq debut through the listing of its American depositary receipts. "First of all, this is a truly historical moment, and we've been waiting for a long, long time," he said. "SK acquired hynix 15 years ago. So it's kind of a dream come true." Aside from memory chip production, Chey pointed out his expectations for his conglomerate's investments in the broader AI industry. "I am expecting at least ... tens of billions of dollars for the AI side," he said. "We are talking about just memory chips, but I am looking at large investments in AI, AI data centers, technologies and startups, or joint ventures with my partners," he said. "I'm expecting huge investments sooner or later." He stressed that the Nasdaq debut will give SK hynix a new kind of momentum, saying that access to the global market is a "beautiful thing," which will enable the company to have "a lot of financial options" available in the future. "While we can have a lot of options to play ... like stock options, we can actually hire a lot of U.S. or global talent easily," he said. Asked how he can ensure that investors in SK hynix are not investing at a peak price, Chey highlighted that the world is "in the AI era" where "the demand structure is little different." "In the old days, memory chips depended on the number of people or the number of hardware sets. But in this AI era ... AI is not just bound by the number of people or hardware sets," he said. "We are talking about the AI agents (and) physical AI robots that need a lot of memory chips. So the demand grows exponentially." Asked whether he is considering investing and building chip facilities in the United States, Chey said that his team is studying the possibility. "It's not easy to build memory fabs. We need clean water, land, the workforce and ecosystem for the supply chain. So, well, if it's possible, then why not?" he said. He also said that his company is trying to find "the right place" for its future investments. "Not only in the U.S. It's probably all over the world. I am trying to find the right place," he said.

Global Market: SK Hynix's Nasdaq ADR debut raises $26.5 billion amid AI chip boom

South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix successfully raised $26.5 billion through its ADR offering. This significant fundraising highlights robust global investor interest in AI semiconductor suppliers. The company is a leading provider of essential high-bandwidth memory chips for AI processors. South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix has raised about $26.5 billion through its American Depositary Receipt (ADR) offering, pricing the issue at $149 per ADR, according to a U.S. regulatory filing. The fundraising underscores strong global investor appetite for companies at the heart of the artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor supply chain, Reuters reported. The ADRs have been priced at a 2.7% premium to the company's average share price over the previous three trading sessions in Seoul, according to a filing submitted to the Korea Exchange on Friday. The shares are scheduled to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "SKHY". US MarketsPowered By As on 10 Jul 2026, 01:30 AM IST S&P 500 Top Gainers Hewlett Packard49.11(9.94%) Norwegian Cruise Line19.76(6.98%) Lam Research353.17(6.01%) Invesco28.61(5.85%) Gainers" S&P 500 Top Losers Coterra Energy32.56(-8.62%) APA33.29(-5.05%) Costco Wholesale912.97(-4.21%) Cincinnati Financial175.43(-3.38%) Losers" The offering comes as SK Hynix strengthens its position as the world's leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, which are essential components used alongside advanced AI processors. The proceeds will be used to finance new manufacturing facilities and equipment to meet rapidly growing AI-related demand, Reuters reported. Investor demand for the offering was robust, with the share sale reportedly attracting orders worth more than seven times the available shares, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. SK Hynix declined to comment on the pricing or demand figures. The company had earlier referenced an indicative ADR price of 242,500 won ($160.80) based on its July 3 closing price in Seoul. On Thursday, SK Hynix shares closed at 2,186,000 won, with 10 ADRs representing one common share. SK Hynix shares were up 2.8% at the opening of trading in Seoul on Friday, although they underperformed the broader market, which gained 4.5%. The U.S. listing is also expected to help narrow the valuation gap between SK Hynix and U.S.-based rival Micron Technology. Despite trailing SK Hynix in key memory segments, Micron has benefited from direct access to the world's largest investor base through its U.S. listing. Reuters reported that Micron trades at a 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of 6.66 times, compared with 5.5 times for SK Hynix. SK Hynix continues to compete with domestic rival Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chipmaker by production volume. However, the company has emerged as the dominant supplier of HBM chips, placing it at the centre of the global AI infrastructure buildout. The chipmaker's long-term investment in HBM technology has translated into surging earnings as demand for AI servers and data centres accelerates. Nvidia has previously identified SK Hynix as its largest memory partner, while industry executives continue to expect tight supply conditions for advanced memory chips over the next few years, Reuters reported. Although semiconductor stocks have cooled in recent weeks amid concerns over AI spending, SK Hynix remains one of the sector's strongest performers. The stock has declined around 25% over the past two weeks but is still up approximately 680% over the last 12 months. Despite the sharp rally in its share price, SK Hynix's valuation has become more attractive as profits have risen even faster. Its forward price-to-earnings multiple has fallen from 7.9 times at the end of October to 5.5 times, reflecting rapid earnings growth, according to Reuters. The ADR offering is being underwritten by Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, while SK Hynix's primary stock market listing will remain in Seoul. The company has also disclosed that Baillie Gifford Overseas, investment funds managed by Coatue Management, and Situational Awareness Partners have each indicated interest in purchasing portions of the ADR offering, with combined commitments of up to $7 billion, Reuters reported. Market analysts, however, believe the U.S. listing may not significantly lift SK Hynix's domestic share price, noting that South Korean companies continue to trade at relatively lower valuations because of the long-standing "Korea discount" linked to corporate governance concerns, according to Reuters.

Trillion-dollar South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix debuts on Nasdaq at $170 a share, signaling strong AI appetite among traders

SK Hynix, the South Korean chipmaker worth $1 trillion, opened Friday at $170 a share on the Nasdaq and quickly rose higher - signaling investors are still eager for access to the AI trade, even after weeks of wild swings in tech and chip stocks. As of 2:45 p.m. ET, its American depositary receipts were up nearly 20% to $18.61, after raising $26.5 billion in a blockbuster Wall Street offering - the largest-ever US share sale by a foreign company. More than 52 million shares of SK Hynix had traded by noon, "a huge number" less than 30 minutes after its debut, JJ Kinahan, head of retail expansion and alternative investment products at Cboe Global Markets, told the Wall Street Journal. "It's an incredible story for this company," he said. "Revenue tripled between 2022 and 2025, but the key question is whether it can continue this incredible pace of growth." The memory-chip maker - which is South Korea's second-most valuable company, trailing only Samsung - traded under the ticker symbol SKHYV, and will switch to SKHY as of Tuesday. Its listing comes a month after Elon Musk's SpaceX debuted on the Nasdaq in the largest-ever IPO. Investors are anticipating more massive AI IPOs from OpenAI and Anthropic later this year or in early 2027. SK Hynix specializes in high bandwidth memory, or HBM, chips that have a higher memory capacity than the typical RAM chips used in cell phones and laptops. Tech giants have gone all-in on artificial intelligence, racing to build out power-hungry data centers. That boom in demand has caused shortages and sent costs soaring, resulting in blowout profits for manufacturers like SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron. SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung told Bloomberg Friday that he expects memory-chip shortages to persist beyond 2030, saying customers are signing long-term contracts with the manufacturer. The company - which sells to some of the biggest names in the industry, like Nvidia and Apple - has seen its valuation jump more than sevenfold over the past year. Tech and chips stocks have suffered choppy trading, however, as American investors grow fearful that massive spending on AI infrastructure could be creating an "AI bubble" similar to the "dot-com bubble" of the early 2000s. If AI investments do not pay out as expected, the market would suddenly experience an oversupply and prices would nosedive, critics say. SK Hynix Chairman Tae-won signaled the company is optimistic and doesn't see any cause for concern. "The demand is enormous, exponentially, so I don't really see" signs that demand for HBM chips is shrinking, Chey told CNBC Friday. Chey said when he meets with partners, everyone asks for more chips - and that when SK Hynix announced plans to double its capacity within five years, customers complained it wasn't enough. "All my customers said that, 'Well, that's not enough, man, and, well, we need more,'" he said. The company's ADRs were priced at $149 in its share sale, and it plans to use the $26.5 billion raised on new factories and equipment. It has announced a $4 billion packaging plant in Indiana, but the vast majority of its expansion plans will take place in South Korea.

SK Hynix rises 14% in debut on Wall Street as demand for memory chips soars amid AI frenzy

NEW YORK -- Shares of South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix rose 14 per cent as they made their debut on Wall Street, at a time when demand for chips is surging thanks to the frenzy around artificial intelligence. The company is already one of the largest in South Korea, along with Samsung Electronics, and is a member of the Kospi index. Even with a recent pullback, the country's Kospi index is up 77 per cent so far this year and SK Hynix shares have more than tripled. SK Hynix priced its American depositary receipts, or ADRs, at US$149 each Thursday and they opened Friday at US$170 on the Nasdaq. The offering of 177.9 million ADRs raised proceeds of US$26.5 billion, making it the biggest-ever initial share sale in the U.S. by a foreign company. An ADR is issued by a bank or broker and is a simplified way for U.S. investors to own foreign stocks through the U.S. markets. SK Hynix is going public in the U.S. amid a surge in IPO proceeds. There were 48 IPOs raising a total of US$104.8 billion during the second quarter, according to Renaissance Capital. It is the biggest quarter for deal proceeds in five years, in large part because of SpaceX raising US$75 billion. Many of the companies going public are capitalizing on the demand for all things AI. SK Hynix has a dominant position globally for high bandwidth memory, which is essential for the development of advanced AI technology. The company recently entered a partnership with Wall Street's most valuable company, Nvidia, for advanced memory chips as AI infrastructure expands globally. Increasing demand for AI has been driving a surge in profits for chipmakers. Memory chips have become more expensive as demand outpaces supply along with the advancement of artificial intelligence technology. Technology giant Apple recently announced an increase in prices for Macs and iPads because of the jump in price for memory chips. The U.S. is SK Hynix's largest market, accounting for 68.8 per cent of its revenue last year. It is planning an expansion that includes building its first U.S. production facility, located in Indiana. Overall, the company had revenue of just under US$65 billion in 2025. That helped profits double to about US$28 billion. The company recently joined with Samsung and the government in announcing plans to invest a combined 800 trillion won (US$518 billion) in building a new computer chipmaking hub in South Korea's southwest region, part of national efforts to expand investment beyond the greater Seoul metropolitan area, the country's economic center and heart of its semiconductor sector. The promise of growing profits has catapulted stock prices within the tech sector, particularly for chipmakers. Micron Technology's stock value more than tripled in 2025 and is on pace to more than triple again in 2026. Nvidia's stock had similar growth several years ago and notched more relatively modest gains in 2025. Big chipmakers have become the most valuable and influential companies on Wall Street. Their high stock values give them outsized influence over Wall Street and major indexes have been setting records mostly because of the tech sector. Shares in SK Hynix traded in Seoul slipped 0.3 per cent on Friday.

SK hynix lists ADRs on Nasdaq to expand global AI presence - The Korea Times

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung and other officials clap during an "Opening Bell" ceremony held at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, New York, on July 10 (local time) to commemorate SK hynix's listing of its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). Yonhap SK hynix has listed its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the Nasdaq stock market, marking a move to expand its presence in global capital markets and strengthen its position as a key supplier in the artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor ecosystem. The Korean memory chipmaker held an opening bell ceremony at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, New York, on Friday (local time) to commemorate the start of ADR trading. The event was attended by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, SK Square Executive Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won and SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung, among other senior executives from the group and company. The listing comes as demand for AI-related memory chips is surging amid rapid growth in data centers and AI computing. SK hynix has emerged as a leading player in the high bandwidth memory (HBM) market, a critical component for AI accelerators used by major technology companies. "Through continuous innovation, we will push the boundaries of what memory can achieve while empowering our employees to reach even greater accomplishments," Kwak said. "SK hynix seeks to be wherever AI is, continually demonstrating our technology leadership." Through the Nasdaq listing, SK hynix aims to broaden its global investor base, particularly in the U.S. market, and further strengthen its role as a "core AI partner." Before the listing, the company conducted a global roadshow for institutional investors across the United States, Europe and Asia, highlighting its technological competitiveness and growth prospects in the AI memory sector. SK hynix said the ADR listing is expected not only to improve access to global investors but also to create opportunities for new businesses and strategic partnerships within the next-generation computing ecosystem. Trading of the ADRs began Friday while the offering is scheduled to close on Tuesday. The newly issued common shares underlying the ADRs will be additionally listed on the KOSPI market of the Korea Exchange on July 29.

Near-ruin to riches: The story of chip giant SK hynix

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix faced significant financial challenges after its founding in 1949. SK Group's 2012 buyout and focus on HBM chips fueled its resurgence. Today, SK hynix is a trillion-dollar tech firm benefiting from the AI boom. Its US listing aims to achieve higher valuations compared to its Korean exchange. Seoul: South Korean chipmaker SK hynix will begin trading on Wall Street this Friday, after what could be one of the world's biggest share sales as the firm takes advantage of the global AI boom. Here is a run-down of how the South Korean company went from financial trouble to a $1 trillion tech star: 1940s-90s: Construction to crisisThe company was founded in 1949 under the name Gukdo Construction, but in 1983 began making microchips, phones and disk drives as Hyundai Electronics, an offshoot of the auto giant. When the Asian financial crisis hit in the late 1990s, the International Monetary Fund spent billions to support economic reform in the worst-hit nations: Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea. Also read | India flags inconsistencies in US forced labour probe, seeks resolution via trade talks As part of this, Hyundai took control of the chip operations of another conglomerate, LG Group, creating one of the world's largest semiconductor firms at the time. It was not a happy marriage, however, and losses and debt quickly ballooned. 2001: New namePainful restructuring ensued in an attempt to stay afloat, and in 2001 the company was renamed Hynix Semiconductor to reflect a renewed focus on chips. "Hynix" is a combination of "high" and "electronics", the company said at the time. Also read | Iran War Runtime: A day or two, a week, or a month? White House official says this Later that year, the rebranded firm split from Hyundai, and after more cost-slashing and job cuts, finally began to turn a profit. However, this also proved precarious because of the boom-and-bust industry for memory chips called DRAM, the company's specialty. 2012: SK Group buyoutLacking enough cash to make the investments it needed to survive, Hynix needed rescuing and was bought by telecoms conglomerate SK Group in 2012. Its name changed again to SK hynix, and its former engineer CEO dedicated resources to developing a more advanced type of chip, the then-unprofitable high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Today, HBM is in huge global demand because it is used in artificial intelligence servers alongside other data-crunching semiconductors. 2020s: AI boomAs governments and tech titans plough hundreds of billions of dollars into building data centres that power chatbots and other AI tools, SK hynix has seen its value and profits soar. Its market capitalisation recently surpassed $1 trillion -- a milestone also hit by HBM industry rivals Samsung Electronics and Micron. The company's new riches have burnished its image domestically and overseas. A picture of an SK hynix jacket went viral online as a symbol of wealth and success, with posts depicting it as a "golden ticket" to luxury boutiques or even better dating prospects. The company says it has nearly 46,900 employees, around a third of them women. 2026: US listingSK hynix is already traded on Seoul's Kospi index but on Friday it will begin trading on New York's Nasdaq index, after raising what is expected to be a whopping $28 billion in a share sale, which would be one of the world's largest. It has not yet set its price for the listing. "SK hynix noticed that its multiples on the Korean Exchange were lower than those of equivalent companies listed on the US exchanges," Jim Handy, semiconductor expert at Objective Analysis, told AFP. So their US listing "is a smart move to correct that". SK hynix has said the cash will be used to fund new chip factories, notably in a new cluster in South Korea's southwest.

SK hynix's mega US listing raises hopes for chip rally revival - The Korea Times

The KOSPI index and SK hynix shares are displayed in the dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, Friday. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 7,475.94, up 2.52 percent from the previous session. Yonhap SK hynix's Nasdaq debut on Friday is expected to provide further momentum for the chipmaker's shares, according to market watchers. Investors are closely watching whether the listing can revive a broader appetite for artificial intelligence (AI)-driven semiconductor stocks amid mounting concerns that the sector's rally may have peaked. The KOSPI climbed more than 2 percent on the day to close back above the 7,400 mark, supported by improving investor sentiment toward semiconductor stocks. SK hynix is scheduled to begin trading on the Nasdaq on Friday (local time), under the ticker SKHY after pricing its American depositary receipts (ADRs) at $149 each. ADRs allow U.S. investors to trade foreign companies on U.S. exchanges without purchasing their underlying shares directly in overseas markets. The offering consists of 177.9 million ADRs, each representing one-tenth of a Seoul-listed common share, and is expected to raise about 40 trillion won ($26.6 billion), making it the largest U.S. listing by a foreign company, surpassing Alibaba's 2014 debut. SK hynix said it plans to use the proceeds to expand production capacity and invest in advanced semiconductor facilities to meet growing demand for AI memory chips. Shares of the Korean tech giant have fallen nearly 30 percent over the past month after climbing to record highs earlier this year, as the broader semiconductor sector has come under pressure amid concerns over lofty valuations and growing caution toward AI-related stocks. Analysts said the Nasdaq listing could help narrow SK hynix's valuation discount by improving access for global investors, potentially prompting a re-rating of both its U.S.-listed ADRs and Seoul-listed shares. "The listing gives SK hynix an opportunity to be valued alongside its global peers. Improved access for global investors could quickly narrow the valuation discount that has recently been applied to the company," said Ryu Hyung-geun, an analyst at Daishin Securities. Daishin Securities raised its target price for SK hynix to 3.9 million won from its previous 3.4 million won. On the day, SK hynix shares closed slightly lower at 2.18 million won, down 0.27 percent from the previous session. Kim Dong-won, head of research at KB Securities, said that renewed optimism surrounding SK hynix following its Nasdaq listing could spill over into the broader AI semiconductor sector. "Memory supply shortages are expected to worsen next year, and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) prices are likely to more than double from this year," he said. "We believe SK hynix still has significant upside, and the semiconductor rally is far from over." KB Securities has a target price of 4.2 million won for the company. Meanwhile, the benchmark KOSPI closed at 7,475.94, up 184.03 points, or 2.52 percent, from the previous session as investors welcomed optimism surrounding SK hynix's Nasdaq debut and overnight gains in U.S. semiconductor stocks. The secondary bourse Kosdaq also rallied, closing at 837.43, up 43.43 points, or 5.47 percent, from the previous session. The sharp rally driven by strong buying pressure triggered a buy-sidecar on the KOSPI at 12:54 p.m., temporarily suspending program buy orders. A similar measure was activated in the Kosdaq market about 14 minutes later. In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the Korean won strengthened 4.7 won against the U.S. dollar to close the onshore trading at 1,501.4.

SK Hynix's $28 billion US share sale draws more than seven times demand: Reports

SK Hynix's proposed $28 billion share sale in the US saw demand exceed offerings by seven times. This strong investor response highlights significant appetite for AI supply chain companies. The South Korean chipmaker is raising funds for new factories and equipment production. Investor optimism lifted SK Hynix shares by about six percent in morning trading. The company is a leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips for Nvidia. Demand for SK Hynix's proposed $28 billion share sale in the United States exceeded the number of shares on offer by more than seven times, according to a report by Reuters. The strong response highlights robust investor appetite for one of the key companies powering the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. The South Korean memory chipmaker is raising funds to finance new factories and equipment as it ramps up production to meet soaring demand for AI chips. The offering is expected to become the world's second-largest share sale, following SpaceX's record-breaking $85.7 billion initial public offering last month. US MarketsPowered By As on 09 Jul 2026, 01:30 AM IST S&P 500 Top Gainers Akamai Technologies126.57(10.67%) Arista Networks181.05(8.76%) Super Micro Computer28.17(7.31%) Valero Energy282.88(6.26%) Gainers" S&P 500 Top Losers Synchrony Financial68.26(-9.61%) Coterra Energy32.56(-8.62%) Moderna73.80(-7.48%) Smurfit WestRock42.08(-6.49%) Losers" SK Hynix declined to comment on the demand for the offering. The person cited by Reuters also declined to be identified because the details of the transaction remain confidential. Investor optimism lifted SK Hynix shares by about 6% in morning trading on Thursday. According to Reuters, underwriters have informed investors that pricing guidance is expected after the South Korean market closes on Thursday, with share allocations to be finalised later in the U.S. trading day. Although semiconductor stocks have lost some momentum globally in recent weeks, AI-related chipmakers such as SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics continue to trade near historic highs after a prolonged rally driven by booming demand for chips used in AI data centres. SK Hynix shares have fallen roughly 25% over the past two weeks following their sharp run-up. Despite the recent correction, the stock remains up around 680% over the past 12 months. The company has emerged as the leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips for Nvidia, cementing its position at the heart of the AI hardware ecosystem after years of investment in the technology. Bloomberg had earlier reported that the share sale was oversubscribed by more than seven times.

SK Hynix set for marquee US debut in test for AI appetite

July 10 (Reuters) - SK Hynix's U.S. trading debut on Friday following a $26.5 billion share sale will be a key test of investors' belief in the durability of the AI boom, coming after a recent pullback in semiconductor stocks. Chip stocks have lost some momentum in recent weeks after a stellar run, partly due to investor concerns about slower AI spending. SK Hynix shares have dropped a quarter from their record high hit two weeks ago. Even so, the company's stock is 650% higher than a year ago. The South Korean chipmaker is the latest to ride a frenzy of investor interest in firms perceived as reaping big gains from the AI revolution that has spawned hundreds of billions of dollars in capital spending. "Global semiconductors is the most crowded trade in the world right now," said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital in New York. "The bankers and the issuer, in this case SK Hynix, are meeting demand where it is. They're seeing excessive valuations, and they want to take advantage of it." SK Hynix shares rose 2.2% to 2.233 million won ($1,479.98) in Seoul on Friday after it sold American Depositary Receipts at $149 apiece, a 2.7% premium over its average share price in the last three trading days. Ten ADRs are equivalent to one common share. BIG INVESTOR POOL The offering, the second-largest share sale in the U.S. after SpaceX's record IPO last month, will bring in funds for SK Hynix to build new factories and give the chipmaker direct access to the world's largest pool of investors. "This is the purest large-cap way for U.S. investors to own the AI-memory theme, and Hynix deliberately picked Nasdaq to tap that demand and the higher valuations U.S. chip names command versus Seoul," said Giuseppe Sette, co-founder of investment analysis platform Reflexivity. "SK Hynix gets its deal done on the strength of the story, but companies coming after it may face a tougher, more selective market." The Icheon, South Korea-based company is the world's biggest maker of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, which are essential for the vast amounts of data processing in AI-focused graphics processing units (GPUs) produced by the likes of Nvidia and AMD. A big-tech splurge on these advanced processors has turned HBM chips into a scarce commodity, driving up prices and turning manufacturers into some of Wall Street's hottest bets, as investors view the industry as the "picks and shovels" suppliers to the AI boom. Micron, SK Hynix's U.S.-based competitor, has also rocketed 711% over the past 12 months. Analysts say SK Hynix's U.S. listing will help close a valuation disparity between the two companies by expanding its investor base and accessibility. Despite its HBM dominance, SK Hynix trades at around 6.8 times forward earnings versus Micron at around 13 times, according to LSEG data. Tech giants competing for faster and smarter AI models are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into the infrastructure powering the technology, raising equity and tapping debt markets to fund the costly expansion. Analysts expect that spending will continue to grow in the near term. Global cloud and AI infrastructure capital expenditure is expected to approach $1.5 trillion by 2027, a 40% to 50% jump year-over-year, according to a BofA Securities note this week. However, questions are growing about the returns on these massive investments, sparking worries that hyperscalers could eventually be forced into a spending slowdown. "Investors will weigh the strength of the past year's rally against this latest volatility ... Oversupply fears are inherent to the industry," said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs. ($1 = 1,508.8000 won) (Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti and Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru, Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Miyoung Kim and Sonali Paul)

SK Hynix IPO: South Korea's SK Hynix to launch $28 billion US listing to ride global AI wave

The company will sell 17.79 million new shares in the depository receipt listing on the ⁠Nasdaq, ⁠making it one of the world's most valuable tech firms. South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix will on Monday launch its about $28 billion U.S. listing, according to its regulatory filings, in one of the world's largest new share sales as it capitalizes on the global AI boom. The company will sell 17.79 million new shares in the depository receipt listing on the ⁠Nasdaq, ⁠making it one of the world's most valuable tech firms. Ten ADRs will represent one common share and the stock will be sold in a price range due to be revealed on Monday, based on SK Hynix's Seoul trading price. SK Hynix's share price was trading 1% higher and the stock is up about 273% this ⁠year, as it rides surging global investor demand for AI stocks. Korea's KOSPI was up 0.2% early Monday. SK Hynix has been ⁠among the world's largest beneficiaries of the AI boom as it outperformed its major rivals Samsung Electronics and Micron. The final price of the New York listing is due to be set on Thursday, ahead of the stock starting trade on Friday, regulatory filings showed. The company's management will meet global investors on a roadshow this week. The deal is expected to be the second-biggest share sale after a record $85.7 billion initial public offering by SpaceX last month, surpassing Saudi Aramco's $25.6 billion IPO in ⁠2019 and Alibaba's similar-sized offering in 2014. SK Hynix is a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI systems by customers such as Nvidia and Google. The company last week said it would invest 100 trillion won ($64.38 billion) to build new chip plants, including one for NAND flash memory, as part of a massive South Korean investment drive aimed at spreading returns from the AI boom.