SK Hynix ADR Surges 13% on Debut, Market Cap Surpasses Micron and AMD
Claire Weston
SK Hynix's Nasdaq-listed ADR closed up roughly 13% on its first day, raising $26.5 billion in the largest-ever foreign stock offering in the U.S. — its $1.2 trillion closing market cap now exceeds both Micron and AMD.
How big was this listing?
The ADR priced at $149, closed at $168.99, and touched nearly 19% above issue price intraday.
The $26.5 billion raise surpassed Alibaba's roughly $25 billion IPO in 2014, making it the largest foreign equity offering ever on a U.S. exchange.
This means → investor appetite for AI memory is now large enough to support a deal bigger than Alibaba's record.
A $1.2 trillion valuation — why does it top Micron and AMD?
SK Hynix closed its first session with a market cap of $1.2 trillion, leapfrogging both Micron Technology and AMD.
This reflects a repricing: the market no longer treats SK Hynix as a cyclical memory stock but as a core AI-infrastructure supplier.
In plain terms = whoever controls the high-bandwidth memory chips (HBM) that AI training cannot do without commands a premium valuation — and SK Hynix sits squarely in that position today.
Where does the money go — and is doubling capacity enough?
Proceeds will fund new production facilities and chip-making equipment, including EUV lithography tools — machines that etch circuits with extreme-ultraviolet light.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said the company plans to double capacity within five years, yet added that every customer's response has been: "That's not enough — we need more."
This means → even a twofold expansion may lag AI-driven memory demand — bullish for pricing power, but a real execution risk if buildout timelines slip.
What are institutions saying — and who is buying?
Baillie Gifford Overseas, Coatue Management, and Situational Awareness Partners indicated interest in up to $7 billion of ADRs combined; final allocations have not been disclosed.
Gabelli Funds portfolio manager Hendi Susanto said he has bought in and plans to add, citing an optimistic 2026–2027 roadmap and growing confidence among key players through 2028.
Bank of America senior strategist Rob Haworth noted that AI beneficiaries will spread beyond chips into industrials, utilities, and other sectors — not just memory.
What is the tension for Korean retail investors?
In the week before the listing, SK Hynix's Korean-listed shares swung sharply: down 6% Tuesday, another 6% Wednesday, then up 5% Thursday.
Seoul-based investor Min Dong-geon captured the typical stance: fully confident in SK Hynix stock itself, but cautious on the ADR.
His concern: new share issuance dilutes existing holders. The upside: TSMC's long-standing U.S. listing commands a higher P/E than SK Hynix, and the ADR could help narrow that valuation discount.
In plain terms = for existing shareholders the ADR is a double-edged sword — short-term dilution against a potential long-term re-rating.
What comes next?
Roughly 10 ETFs linked to SK Hynix are set to launch next week — including leveraged long and inverse short products — from issuers such as Themes ETFs, ProShares, and Leverage Shares.
The Roundhill Memory ETF, which concentrates on U.S. and Korean memory-chip stocks, became the fastest ETF in history to reach $20 billion in assets after its April launch.
This means → the debut performance will anchor timing and pricing for any follow-on offering; whether capacity doubles on schedule and whether AI memory demand sustains the valuation are the two key tests ahead.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.