SK Hynix: Nvidia Alliance Spurs 16% Rally While US IPO and Samsung Threat Reshape the Picture

SK Hynix shares surge after Nvidia partnership extends beyond HBM; ADR filing could unlock $14B; Q1 operating margin hits 72%, topping Nvidia.

The whiplash hitting SK Hynix shareholders this week tells two stories at once. On Monday, the stock plunged 7.68 percent as a broader KOSPI rout triggered a 20-minute circuit breaker — a reaction to surprisingly strong US jobs data that extinguished rate-cut hopes. By Tuesday, bargain hunters had stormed back, driving the shares up nearly 16 percent to close at 2,215,000 won. The catalyst? A freshly inked multi-year technology partnership with Nvidia that extends well beyond high-bandwidth memory.

That deal, announced over the weekend of June 7, commits SK Hynix to developing memory chips for Nvidia’s new Vera-Rubin supercomputers, as well as robot platforms and AI infrastructure. The market’s initial shrug — Monday’s sell-off was broad and macro-driven — gave way to a ferocious recovery that lifted the KOSPI itself by over 8 percent. Yet beneath the surface, the picture is far from settled. Foreign investors pulled a net two trillion won out of the Korean market on Tuesday, even as domestic institutions stepped in as buyers, suggesting the rally rests on short-term positioning rather than a sustained inflow.

Investors are also digesting a strategic shift that could unlock billions in valuation. SK Hynix filed a confidential registration with the SEC in March 2026 for an American Depositary Receipt, targeting a listing in June or July of the second half of that year. The offering could raise up to $14 billion through new shares equivalent to 2–3 percent of the company. The logic is straightforward: in Seoul, SK Hynix trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of three to four, while US rivals command multiples several times higher. Large American pension funds and index ETFs are structurally barred from holding Korean equities; an ADR would remove that barrier. Not everyone is cheering. The Korea Corporate Governance Forum opposes the issuance of new shares, warning of dilution for existing holders, and the company no longer holds treasury stock to cushion the blow.

Competitive pressures are also heating up. Samsung sent samples of its 12-layer HBM4E memory to key customers on May 29 — months ahead of SK Hynix, which does not expect to deliver samples until the second half of 2026 and mass production only in 2027. That early-mover advantage could shape board designs and procurement decisions. Still, SK Hynix dominates the current HBM market with a 57–60 percent revenue share and is estimated to command 60–70 percent of Nvidia’s Vera-Rubin HBM4 allocation, versus Samsung’s 25–30 percent and Micron’s remainder.

Those numbers are backed by staggering financial performance. In the first quarter of 2026, SK Hynix posted revenue of 52.58 trillion won, up 198 percent year-on-year, while operating profit surged 405 percent to 37.61 trillion won. The resulting operating margin of 72 percent surpassed even Nvidia’s 65 percent — a record for the entire semiconductor industry. That firepower is funding an aggressive expansion: the company plans to double wafer capacity within five years, with the new M15X plant in Cheongju already ramping from 10,000 wafers per month toward 50,000 by year-end. Capital expenditure this year exceeds 30 trillion won, supplemented by a 19-trillion-won packaging facility in Cheongju and a 5.7-trillion-won fab in Indiana.

Yet the stock remains 13 percent below its all-time high from June 2, and about 8 percent off its 52-week peak. The annualized volatility sits at nearly 99 percent, and the shares are trading 47 percent above their 50-day moving average — an extreme dislocation that leaves them vulnerable to sudden reversals. NH Investment Securities has raised its price target to 3.2 million won, betting on sustained HBM4 demand and stabilizing DRAM spot prices, but the gap between that target and the current price underscores how much depends on whether the US listing can finally close the valuation chasm that Seoul has failed to bridge. For now, the Nvidia pact provides fundamental ballast, but the market’s mood swings are far from over.