SK Hynix's AI-Fueled Surge: A 90% Rally, a New All-Time High, and a Three-Year Backlog

SK Hynix shares surge to all-time high, driven by 57% HBM market share, record revenue, and a bullish supercycle outlook for 2026.

The stock of South Korea’s SK Hynix has more than doubled since the start of the year, and the rally shows no signs of cooling. On Monday, shares surged 5.48 percent to hit an all-time high of 1,289,000 won, pushing the company’s market value to 17th place globally. The trigger? A blockbuster earnings report from Intel, which posted revenue of $13.6 billion and earnings per share of 29 cents — both well above expectations. Intel’s own stock shot up nearly 24 percent, and the optimism rippled across the semiconductor sector.

The contrast with domestic rival Samsung Electronics was stark. Samsung’s shares rose just 2.5 percent on Monday, weighed down by the threat of a union strike in May. SK Hynix, by contrast, appears untouchable. A critical analyst note published the same day failed to dent the stock’s momentum.

The HBM Crown: A 57% Market Share

The core of SK Hynix’s success is its early bet on high-bandwidth memory (HBM). The company moved faster than competitors to develop and mass-produce all generations of HBM chips, making it the primary memory supplier for Nvidia. Today, SK Hynix commands a 57 percent share of the HBM market. While Samsung overtook it in total DRAM revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025, SK Hynix remains firmly ahead in the AI-critical HBM segment.

That leadership was recognized on April 24 in New York, when SK Hynix received the IEEE Corporate Innovation Award for the first time in its history. The prize, awarded since 1986, honors companies that make a measurable societal contribution through technological innovation. SK Hynix was cited for its role in building the global AI ecosystem.

A Supercycle That Defies Seasonal Weakness

Bank of America has called 2026 a “supercycle similar to the boom of the 1990s,” forecasting a 51 percent jump in global DRAM revenue. SK Hynix is the bank’s “top pick” in the sector.

The company’s own numbers back that bullishness. SK Hynix reported record revenue of approximately 52.6 trillion won and operating profit of 37.6 trillion won. The first quarter is typically a weak period for chipmakers, but the massive wave of investment in AI infrastructure has shattered that pattern. Management says orders for the next three years already exceed production capacity, creating a severe supply bottleneck.

Billions in Investment, Next-Gen Chips on the Horizon

SK Hynix is not resting on its laurels. The company has already secured the world’s first mass-production system for HBM4. In Indiana, it is building a factory for advanced chip packaging, with an investment of roughly $3.9 billion. Production of the next HBM generation is slated to begin there in the second half of 2028.

Closer on the horizon, SK Hynix plans to deliver first samples of its new HBM4E memory chips in the second half of this year, with mass production scheduled for 2027.

Meanwhile, the company is pushing ahead with its expansion in U.S. capital markets. Between June and July, SK Hynix plans to list American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). Confidential registration documents have already been filed with the SEC.

Technicals: Near Overbought, But Still Room to Run

With a year-to-date gain of roughly 93 percent, SK Hynix shares trade near their 52-week high. The relative strength index (RSI) stands at just under 69 — technically not yet in overbought territory, but close. Investors buying in at current levels are paying for a growth story that is already largely priced in. But with a three-year order backlog, a dominant HBM position, and a supercycle on the horizon, the narrative remains intact.