SK Hynix Shares Soar to Record Highs Amid AI Boom and Data Center Plans

SK Hynix shares extend gains to over 2-decade highs as parent group reportedly plans AI data center

Illustration of the SK Hynix company logo seen displayed on a smartphone screen. Shares in South Korea's SK Hynix extended gains to hit a more than 2-decade high on Tuesday, following reports over the weekend that SK Group plans to build the country's largest AI data center. SK Hynix shares, which have surged almost 50% so far this year on the back of an AI boom, were up nearly 3%, following gains on Monday. The company's parent, SK Group, plans to build the AI data center in partnership with Amazon Web Services in Ulsan, according to domestic media. SK Telecom and SK Broadband are reportedly leading the initiative, with support from other affiliates, including SK Hynix. SK Hynix is a leading supplier of dynamic random access memory or DRAM -- a type of semiconductor memory found in PCs, workstations and servers that is used to store data and program code. The company's DRAM rival, Samsung, was also trading up 4% on Tuesday. However, the two companies' shares have diverged of late. On Friday, Samsung Electronics' market cap reportedly slid to a 9-year low of 345.1 trillion won ($252 billion) as the chipmaker struggles to capitalize on AI-led demand. SK Hynix, on the other hand, has become a leader in high bandwidth memory -- a type of DRAM used in artificial intelligence servers -- supplying to clients such as AI behemoth Nvidia. A report from Counterpoint Research in April said that SK Hynix had captured 70% of the HBM market by revenue share in the first quarter. This HBM strength helped it overtake Samsung in the overall DRAM market for the first time ever, with a 36% global market share as compared to Samsung's 34%.

SK Hynix Shares Touch New High Amid Strong Growth Hopes

Shares of SK Hynix, a high-bandwidth-memory product supplier for AI chip giant Nvidia, hit a record high Tuesday after rising for a second straight day. The South Korean memory chip maker's rally signals market expectations for another strong quarter of growth, following above-consensus first-quarter results on continued artificial intelligence-driven demand for advanced and powerful computing chips. The rally also points to investor confidence in SK Hynix dominating the higher-end HBM market and continuing to have an edge over rivals Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology. SK Hynix's stock rose as much as 4.8% to 260,000 won, equivalent to $191.26, early Tuesday and changed hands at more than 250,000 won for most of the session, beating its previous record intraday high of 248,500 won on July 11. That's the first time that SK Hynix shares topped the 250,000-won intraday level since the company was integrated into SK Group in 2012. Shares ended Tuesday's session 0.4% higher at a record closing high of 249,000 won. Investors have recently piled into SK Hynix following a series of upbeat second-quarter outlooks by analysts. Seoul-based DS Investment & Securities analyst Lee Su-rim in a recent note estimated SK Hynix's second-quarter operating profit to jump 62% from a year earlier to 8.9 trillion won--largely in line with market consensus. That would come after first-quarter operating profit more than doubled to 7.4 trillion won from the prior-year period. SK Hynix's robust earnings growth continues to be supported by the growing proportion of higher-end advanced HBM3E products among its total shipments of dynamic random-access memory chips, Lee said. HBM products are expected to account for 45% of the company's total DRAM revenue this year, up from 31% in 2024, she added. SK Hynix, which began mass producing advanced 12-layer HBM3E products ahead of rivals last year, likely dethroned Samsung Electronics as the world's largest DRAM maker in the first quarter, according to research firm Counterpoint Technology Market Research.

SK Hynix Leads Korean Chip Stocks' Gains, Helps Kospi Outperform Peers

SK Hynix's shares climbed Tuesday, leading broad gains in local chip stocks and helping the benchmark Kospi outperform regional indexes that are largely rallying on President Trump's Middle East cease-fire announcement. The South Korean supplier of high-bandwidth-memory, or HBM, products for U.S. AI chip giant Nvidia has been widely tipped by market analysts to log strong earnings growth in the coming quarters, driven by a continued artificial-intelligence boom at home and abroad. SK Hynix is also viewed as being well-positioned to benefit from South Korea's new AI initiatives under President Lee Jae-myung, who during his election campaign pledged to invest 100 trillion won, equivalent to $72.93 billion, to turn the country into an AI powerhouse. The memory-chip maker's stock jumped as much as 9.1% to 283,000 won in early trading, before paring some gains to trade around 7.0% higher for most of the session. The stock is on course to post its sharpest daily gain in more than two months. The Kospi rose 2.8% to 3,098.92 in afternoon trading after touching 3,100 earlier for the first time in more than three years, outperforming most of its major regional peers. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average last rose 1.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 2.0% and China's Shanghai Composite Index added 1.1%. Tuesday's rally came as investors' appetite for riskier assets grew after Trump said that Israel and Iran agreed to a cease-fire that could end the war between the two countries. Most analysts have recently maintained an upbeat earnings-growth outlook for SK Hynix, amid signs of a recovery in the chip industry. The AI boom is also boosting demand for SK Hynix's advanced HBM products. HSBC analysts Ricky Seo and Hankil Chang said in a recent note that they expect SK Hynix's operating profit to jump 65% from a year earlier for the April-June quarter, given its strong performance in the HBM market. They forecast higher-end HBM products will account for half the company's total second-quarter DRAM sales, with the 12-layer HBM3E product taking the lead. SK Hynix's earnings are expected to improve further in the second half, as the company is set to benefit in the third quarter from recent DRAM price increases and a rebound in NAND prices, Daiwa Capital analysts S.K. Kim and Daekoon Kim said in a note on Monday.