SK Hynix Debuts on Wall Street with a Record Raise of $26.5 Billion

The attention towards everything related to artificial intelligence shows no sign of waning, as evidenced by SK Hynix's debut on the Nasdaq, which concluded with a raise of $26.5 billion (about 40 trillion won), a result that surpasses the record set by Alibaba in 2014 and represents the largest listing in the United States ever achieved by a non-American company.

The South Korean company placed 177.9 million American Depositary Shares (ADR) at a price of $149 each. The ADRs allow U.S. investors to purchase securities that represent a share of stocks traded on the Seoul stock exchange, with a value approximately one-tenth of the original share. On the first day of trading, the stock opened with an increase of about 14% compared to the placement price, while the demand for the offering reportedly exceeded more than seven times the number of shares available.

Trading began on the Nasdaq with the temporary ticker SKHYV, which is set to become SKHY starting from the next trading session. The strong interest from investors is noteworthy because South Korean companies are traditionally penalized by the so-called "Korea Discount", a phenomenon that attributes lower valuations compared to international competitors due to factors such as corporate governance, shareholder return, regulatory uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula.

In the case of SK Hynix, the market seems instead to have favored the strategic role of the company in the artificial intelligence supply chain. The manufacturer is indeed one of the world's leading suppliers of DRAM and especially of HBM (High Bandwidth Memory), which is used in the most advanced accelerators for AI, including those developed by NVIDIA.

According to Counterpoint data referenced in June 2026, SK Hynix holds 29% of the global DRAM market, behind Samsung with 38% and ahead of Micron with 22%. The three companies dominate the sector but continue to not fully meet demand, funneling a large part of production towards AI sector customers, who are more profitable compared to smartphone, PC, console, and other electronic device manufacturers.

The capital raised from the listing will primarily be allocated to three areas: constructing a new semiconductor factory in South Korea, a new facility dedicated to advanced packaging, and the purchase of EUV lithography systems, essential for the production of future generations of chips. Already in June, SK Group President Chey Tae-won indicated intentions to significantly increase production capacity over the next five years, considering that the global memory shortage could persist until 2030 and even beyond.

At the same time, industrial competition between the United States and South Korea is intensifying. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick stated that he has initiated discussions with both Samsung and SK Hynix to evaluate the construction of new manufacturing facilities in the United States, aiming to strengthen domestic semiconductor production. This request comes at a time when Micron has already announced a $250 billion investment plan in the USA.