SK Hynix Charges Past Samsung on Two Fronts: Valuation and Market Cap as AI Memory Scarcity Redraws Chip Hierarchy

SK Hynix surpasses Samsung in market cap and P/E ratio for the first time, fueled by AI-driven HBM demand and a supply shortage, while Samsung faces labor unrest.

The South Korean memory chip landscape is undergoing a seismic shift. SK Hynix has not only closed the market-capitalization gap with Samsung Electronics to the narrowest in years but has also overtaken its larger rival on a key valuation metric for the first time. The stock closed at 1,976,000 won on Wednesday, just shy of a fresh 52-week high, pushing its market value above 1,400 trillion won—a single-day surge of over 100 trillion won that left Samsung’s 1,669 trillion won mark looking increasingly vulnerable. By Thursday, the shares briefly touched 2.0 million won in pre-market trade before settling at 1,970,000 won, a modest 0.30% dip that did little to dent a year-to-date gain of nearly 193%.

The catalyst is a perfect storm in high-bandwidth memory. SK Hynix, a key supplier to Nvidia’s AI accelerators, has declared its DRAM, NAND, and HBM inventories fully sold out, unable to fulfill all customer orders. That scarcity has triggered a revaluation of the entire memory sector. Goldman Sachs recently raised its forecast for the DRAM supply gap to 4.9% from 3.3%, calling it the tightest market in 15 years. UBS responded by lifting its price target on SK Hynix from 1.55 million won to 1.7 million won, while SK Securities noted that despite the rally, the stock’s forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at an undemanding 5.2 times.

The new pecking order is most visible in the earnings multiple. For the 2026 fiscal year, SK Hynix now trades at a P/E of 6.79 versus Samsung’s 6.77—a reversal from three months ago, when Samsung commanded an 8.08 multiple against SK Hynix’s 5.28. Investors are effectively betting that AI-driven demand for premium memory will decouple SK Hynix from the traditional cyclical pattern. Standard DRAM and high-margin HBM products are being assessed separately, rewarding the company best positioned in the fastest-growing slice of the market.

Samsung’s struggles have widened the divergence. A protracted labor dispute escalated this week after state mediation failed, with the union planning an 18-day strike from May 21 to June 7. JPMorgan estimates that any resulting wage increases could shave 7% to 12% off Samsung’s operating profit, while customer relationships and supply chains face disruption risks. The relative weakness in Samsung shares has made the KOSPI increasingly a two-stock bet: SK Hynix and Samsung together now account for 51.5% of the KOSPI200 index, up from 38.7% at the start of the year—a 12.8 percentage point shift that amplifies both upside and vulnerability.

Analysts caution that the speed of SK Hynix’s rally leaves little room for disappointment. The relative strength index stands near 69, indicating the stock is hot but not yet overbought. Its 7-day gain of 19.11% and 30-day surge of 78.60% underscore the momentum, but also the risk of a sharp correction if any signs of easing demand emerge.

Looking ahead, the race is far from settled. Samsung remains the strongest challenger for the next HBM generation. Should the group achieve mass production of HBM4 in the second half of 2026, SK Hynix’s market share could fall to 50–60%, down from its current dominant position. New capacity at SK Hynix’s Cheongju and Yongin sites is not expected to come online until mid-2027. Until then, the company’s pricing power and sold-out order book give it an unusually strong hand—and the Korean memory hierarchy its most fluid moment in years.