SK Hynix debuts on Nasdaq: Largest U.S. offering by foreign company

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SK Hynix debuts on Nasdaq

A new record in the U.S. market

SK Hynix sold 177.9 million American depositary receipts on Nasdaq at $149 each, raising $26.5 billion. Each receipt represents one-tenth of a common share traded in Seoul.

The deal became the largest first-time U.S. share sale by a foreign company. According to Bloomberg, SK Hynix surpassed Alibaba’s U.S. debut and completed the third-largest stock offering in global history.

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Demand significantly exceeded supply. Investors submitted orders worth nearly $200 billion, more than seven times the size of the offering. The company did not offer the securities at a discount. The offer price was about 3% above the value of the equivalent number of SK Hynix shares at Thursday’s close in Seoul.

Trading in the receipts began on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the temporary ticker SKHYV. The securities are expected to begin regular-way trading under the ticker SKHY on July 13. Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan led the offering. Banks and brokerages involved in the deal earned nearly $260 million in fees.

Why investors backed SK Hynix

The main reason for the strong demand is SK Hynix’s position in the artificial intelligence memory market. The company is the largest supplier of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, which is used in many systems for training and running AI models.

SK Hynix held a 57% share of the global HBM market by revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. Analysts expect the company to retain more than half of the market in 2026, although Samsung and Micron continue to expand production.

SK Hynix moved into this segment earlier than its main competitors and became a key supplier to Nvidia, the largest buyer of HBM. In June, Nvidia and SK Hynix announced a multiyear partnership following a visit to South Korea by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

“That advantage has positioned SK Hynix as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the rapid growth in AI infrastructure,” TrendForce analyst Ellie Wang said.

The boom extends beyond HBM. Rising demand from data centers has also pushed up prices for conventional memory used in smartphones, computers, cars, and medical equipment. More than 75% of SK Hynix’s revenue comes from RAM, including HBM. The company also produces NAND flash memory and held about 19% of that market in the first quarter.

Why SK Hynix shares trade below rivals

Despite its leadership in HBM, SK Hynix has long traded at a lower valuation than its U.S. competitors. According to LSEG, the company’s 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio is about 4.8. Micron trades at around 6.6 times forward earnings, while the industry median stands at 29.8.

This gap is often linked to the so-called Korea discount. South Korean companies generally trade at lower valuations than global peers because of complex conglomerate structures, corporate governance concerns, and limited access for foreign investors to the domestic market.

The Nasdaq listing makes SK Hynix shares easier for U.S. funds to buy and allows investors to trade them during familiar market hours.

“The ADR listing gives U.S. and global investors who do not have access to local Korean stocks the opportunity to directly buy shares in the global leader in HBM for the first time,” said Janus Henderson portfolio manager Richard Clode.

Analysts believe the listing could bring SK Hynix’s valuation closer to Micron’s, although fully eliminating the discount will be difficult.

Where the money will go and what risks remain

How does the company plan to use the capital it raised? Proceeds from the offering will help SK Hynix finance new factories and equipment. For example, the company is building a $4 billion facility in Indiana that will focus on advanced packaging for HBM chips. The project is scheduled for completion in 2028. SK Hynix also expects to receive up to $458 million in grants and up to $570 million in loans under the CHIPS and Science Act.

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Most of the spending will remain in South Korea. The company plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in new production clusters, including a facility in Yongin worth about $390 billion. By the end of 2027, SK Hynix also intends to spend around $7.8 billion on EUV lithography machines, each of which can cost up to $400 million.

The main risk is the cyclical nature of the memory market. In the past, sharp increases in demand often led to oversupply, falling prices, and losses for manufacturers. Competition is also intensifying: Samsung and Micron are expanding HBM output, which could push SK Hynix’s market share down to as low as 40%.

What the Nasdaq listing could change

A Nasdaq listing gives SK Hynix direct access to U.S. investors and could help narrow the valuation gap with Micron. The company has already shown that the market is willing to pay for its leadership in HBM: demand for the offering approached $200 billion, and the receipts were sold at a premium to the Seoul-listed shares.

However, further growth will depend not on the listing itself but on SK Hynix’s ability to expand production and preserve its technological lead. If Samsung and Micron ramp up HBM output faster, or if the memory market returns to oversupply, the company’s shares could come under pressure.

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