South Korean Chipmaker SK Hynix Raises $26.5 Billion in Record Nasdaq IPO Surpassing $1 Trillion Market Cap

South Korean semiconductor giant SK Hynix has set a new record on Wall Street by completing a massive initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq stock exchange, raising an unprecedented $26.5 billion. This marks the largest-ever U.S. stock market debut by a foreign company, surpassing the previous record of $25 billion set by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in 2014. The American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), traded under the ticker SKHY, were priced at $149 each, with demand exceeding supply by more than seven times, drawing approximately $171 billion in institutional orders globally.

On its first day of trading, SK Hynix's ADRs surged 13%, closing at $168.49 and pushing the company's market capitalization beyond $1.19 trillion. This milestone underscores the growing market appetite for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, particularly high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, where SK Hynix holds a dominant 56.4% global market share. The company is a key supplier of HBM chips to Nvidia, the leading AI hardware firm, while Samsung holds about 35% of the market.

Historically viewed as a cyclical and less innovative sector, the memory chip market has transformed with the rise of AI, driving exponential demand for specialized memory architectures. SK Hynix's chairman, Chey Tae-won, revealed plans to double production capacity over the next five years, though major customers have expressed concerns that even this expansion may fall short of future needs.

The Nasdaq listing also repositions SK Hynix’s valuation, addressing the so-called "Korean risk premium" that previously limited its price-to-earnings ratio compared to global peers. Prior to the U.S. debut, SK Hynix shares traded on the Seoul exchange at a forward P/E of 5.5, significantly lower than U.S.-based competitor Micron Technology’s 6.6 despite Micron’s smaller HBM market share. Investment banks like UBS have actively recommended institutional investors to buy SK Hynix ADRs in the U.S. to capitalize on this valuation gap.

Financially, SK Hynix reported nearly tripled revenues year-over-year, reaching about $35 billion, with a historic net profit of $26.48 billion. The company plans to channel the $26.5 billion raised from the IPO into capital investments, focusing on building advanced manufacturing facilities in South Korea.