SK Hynix Charts a Path to $1 Trillion Market Cap With Massive US Listing and a Zero-Supply Backdrop

SK Hynix dominates HBM market for Nvidia, shares soar 186%, plans US listing in 2026 with $10B capital raise; analysts predict further gains as AI demand booms.

The memory-chip juggernaut is hurtling toward a trillion-dollar valuation, driven by an unprecedented supply squeeze in the high-bandwidth memory market. SK Hynix, the dominant supplier of HBM chips for Nvidia’s AI accelerators, is leveraging a "zero-supply era" that industry insiders expect to persist at least through the end of 2027. That scarcity has allowed the South Korean group to command extraordinary pricing power, pushing its shares 186% higher since the start of the year and forcing the exchange to halt trading temporarily on Thursday as volatility spiked.

Behind the rally lies a carefully plotted expansion strategy. Management is preparing to list on a US exchange in June or July 2026, a move that would be accompanied by a capital raising of roughly $10 billion. The proceeds are earmarked for a global capacity build-out, most notably at the Yongin complex where investments are already set to run into the tens of billions this decade. The long-term spending could multiply further as the company races to satisfy the insatiable appetite for specialised AI memory.

The scale of the ambition is visible in the stock’s trajectory. At Thursday’s close of 1.94 million won, the shares sit just 2% below their 52-week peak, with a relative strength index of nearly 69 signalling the market is approaching overbought territory. Yet analysts are scrambling to raise their targets to match the new reality. Nomura now sees the stock reaching 4 million won, while Korea Investment & Securities and NH Investment & Securities have set targets of 3.8 million and 3.1 million won respectively. The consensus operating profit forecast for 2026 has climbed to around 255 trillion won.

The source of that profit explosion is the symbiotic relationship with Nvidia. The US chip giant’s latest quarterly results confirmed that global spending on AI infrastructure shows no sign of abating, and SK Hynix remains the key bottleneck for HBM supply. That dynamic has also lifted the entire KOSPI index, which on Thursday posted its largest single-day point gain in history, rising over 8%. Combined with Samsung Electronics, the two chipmakers now account for nearly half of the index’s total market capitalisation.

Institutional investors have been the primary engine of the rally. During the Thursday session alone, they recorded net purchases of more than 1.4 trillion won in SK Hynix stock, even as foreign investors extended an 11-day selling streak. Retail shareholders, meanwhile, have been "pyramiding" their positions — systematically adding to holdings as the price rises — a pattern Samsung Securities says reflects deep conviction in the longevity of the memory supercycle.

But the surging profits are also stirring controversy. Investor groups are criticising the company’s decision to distribute roughly 10% of operating profit as performance bonuses to staff, demanding a bigger slice for shareholders. Some associations are threatening legal action over the current bonus structure. The tension is likely to come to a head as SK Hynix prepares the prospectus for its US listing, which will force management to disclose the exact terms of dilution.

Meanwhile, the market is churning with new products designed to capture speculative capital. On 27 May, the Korea Exchange will launch leveraged single-stock ETFs on SK Hynix, a move aimed at retaining liquidity that has recently flowed into similar vehicles in Hong Kong. The products offer a pure, leveraged bet on a company whose shares have already more than doubled this year, but whose valuation is now pricing in a near-perfect execution of its ambitious global expansion.