Overview
- SK Hynix briefly overtook Samsung Electronics in intraday trading on Monday when its market value rose above Samsung's excluding preferred shares.
- The share rally has been powered by strong demand for high‑bandwidth memory (HBM), a specialized stacked DRAM used in AI accelerators that SK Hynix supplies to firms such as Nvidia and Google.
- SK Hynix confirmed it began shipping samples of its 12‑layer HBM4E to major customers in June and is expanding wafer and fab capacity, including a multitrillion‑won plant at its Yongin cluster.
- The company filed confidentially for U.S. American depositary receipts earlier in 2026 and has hired major banks to manage a possible Nasdaq listing that could raise fresh capital but might dilute existing holders if new shares are issued.
- Analysts warn the valuation is fragile because of memory market cyclicality, large capex and yield‑ramp risks, and market‑cap comparisons remain sensitive to Samsung’s inclusion of preferred shares when totaling its value.