Overview
- SK Hynix briefly passed Samsung in market value after a strong share rally, with the Korea Exchange reporting the intraday market cap edge on Monday.
- The jump is tied to SK Hynix's lead in high‑bandwidth memory (HBM), a stacked DRAM used inside AI accelerators that the company supplies to customers such as Nvidia and Google.
- SK Hynix has filed confidentially for a U.S. ADR listing and is investing heavily in new fabs to expand wafer capacity, moves investors see as widening its access to capital and global investors.
- Samsung disputed the ranking by saying its preferred shares should be included in its valuation, and analysts note rivals including Samsung and Micron are also ramping HBM4 shipments, which will affect near‑term supply and pricing.
- The rise caps a long corporate turnaround from near‑bankruptcy in the early 2000s but leaves risks from costly fab execution, yield ramps and the memory sector's historical boom‑and‑bust cycles.