SK Hynix Outruns Samsung as $14 Billion US Listing Looms to Cement HBM Dominance

SK Hynix's forward P/E edges past Samsung's, fueled by record HBM demand. The chipmaker plans a $10-14B US IPO to fund expansion and close valuation gap.

For decades, Samsung Electronics sat unchallenged atop South Korea’s semiconductor pecking order. That hierarchy has now inverted. SK Hynix’s forward price-to-earnings ratio for 2026 has edged past Samsung’s for the first time in history — 6.79 versus 6.77 — a statistical whiplash that reflects the explosive demand for high-bandwidth memory. The valuation crossover comes as the company prepares to take its listing to New York, seeking between $10 billion and $14 billion in new equity.

The US initial public offering is structured as American Depositary Receipts, with a target window of June to July. A confidential filing landed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in late March. The company plans to issue shares equivalent to 2.4% of its existing capital. CEO Kwak Noh-jung sees the move as a remedy for the persistent discount SK Hynix suffers relative to US chip peers, and the primary prize is inclusion in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Passive index funds tracking the SOX would be forced to buy, creating structural demand.

That demand is already underpinned by jaw-dropping operating performance. In the first quarter of 2026, revenue surged nearly 200% year-on-year, and the operating margin hit a record 72% — a figure that even eclipses Nvidia’s. The reason is brutal scarcity. SK Hynix has sold every DRAM, NAND, and HBM chip it can produce. Goldman Sachs pegs the current DRAM supply gap at 4.9%, the most acute shortage in 15 years. Major clients such as Microsoft and Google are now evaluating direct investments in new fabrication plants to secure future allocations. Roughly 90% of SK Hynix’s HBM output goes straight to Nvidia.

The IPO proceeds will bankroll an aggressive expansion plan. Construction of the second phase at the Yongin semiconductor cluster begins in August, with long-term capital spending there estimated at $20.8 billion. The M15X fab in Cheongju is ramping up production of sixth-generation HBM4 memory, and a packaging facility in Indiana is also on the drawing board. Management is betting that the US listing will close the valuation gap and fund these projects without diluting existing shareholders too heavily — though critics beg to differ.

The Korea Corporate Governance Forum has warned that the new issuance will dilute current holders. An additional risk is arbitrage: if the ADR price in New York falls below the underlying ordinary shares in Seoul, traders could convert and dump stock on the home market. The company initially planned to use treasury shares for the listing but scrapped that approach after legal complications, cancelling the shares in February.

Samsung, despite its lowered valuation, is not a spent force. Labor unrest — including unprecedented strike risks — could shave up to 12% off its operating profit, according to JPMorgan. But if Samsung manages to start mass production of HBM4 in the second half of 2026, it could claw back market share. Its current HBM4 yield remains below 60%, while SK Hynix already exceeds 80% on comparable process steps. That difference is the single biggest swing factor for the stock.

SK Hynix shares have soared 169% since the start of the year, touching an all-time high of 1,976,000 Won in mid-May. On Friday, profit-taking sent the stock down 7.66% to 1,819,000 Won. With the relative strength index still near 69, the stock remains hot. Any hint of cooling demand or progress in Samsung’s HBM4 yields could trigger sharp corrections.

The final decision on the Wall Street listing rests on SEC approval. If it goes through this summer, the implications extend beyond SK Hynix. Samsung and SK Hynix together account for more than 42% of the Kospi index. A partial migration of trading volume to the US would alter the structure of South Korea’s flagship benchmark — a shift as significant as the one now playing out in the memory chip pecking order.