Shares of South Korean semiconductor powerhouse SK Hynix surged over 12% on Thursday, driven by its ambitious plans to raise up to $29.4 billion through a U.S. stock market listing, alongside an encouraging earnings report from U.S. competitor Micron Technology.
Micron’s recent financial results exceeded expectations, revealing that the company’s revenue more than quadrupled in the fiscal third quarter, underscoring strong demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence applications. Analysts believe these results signal a tight supply environment for AI-related memory chips, which bodes well for SK Hynix, a key player in the same market. Rolf Bulk, head of semiconductors and infrastructure at Futurum Group, remarked, “This is a very positive read-across for SK Hynix, who are exposed to the exact same market dynamics.”
In a regulatory filing, SK Hynix outlined plans to issue 17.79 million American depositary receipts (ADRs) through a Nasdaq listing, potentially raising 45.45 trillion won (approximately $29.65 billion). While trading is tentatively scheduled to commence on July 10, the company noted that the timeline could still be adjusted.
The company aims to use the ADR listing to broaden its investor base and to ensure that its corporate value is accurately reflected in the market. “We expect to elevate our status as a global company by broadening our touchpoints in the United States, the epicenter of AI technological innovation,” SK Hynix stated.
As demand for AI chips continues to grow, SK Hynix is ramping up its investment strategies. This includes the development of a semiconductor cluster in Yongin, South Korea, set to begin operations in 2027, and the construction of its first manufacturing facility in the United States — a $4 billion advanced chip-packaging plant in Indiana.
Bulk further explained that the ADR listing aims to enhance access to U.S. investors and reduce the valuation gap with Micron. “SK Hynix is one of the clearest ways to gain exposure to AI-driven memory demand, but its Korea-only listing has limited access for many global investors,” he noted.
This surge in SK Hynix’s shares comes as the company has seen over a 300% increase in stock value year-to-date. The fundraising initiative arrives amidst a bullish outlook for the AI memory chip market, with analysts predicting that supply constraints in high-bandwidth memory will likely persist for years as major cloud service providers continue to invest heavily in AI infrastructure.
The positive momentum for SK Hynix also spread across Asia’s technology sector, with Samsung Electronics up more than 5%, Taiwan’s TSMC gaining 0.63%, and Japanese chip-equipment makers such as Tokyo Electron climbing about 7%. Other notable advances included Advantest, up over 4%, and Lasertec, which added more than 3%. SoftBank Group also saw gains of around 5%.
