SK Hynix is nearing a US listing, according to TradingKey's key-information report.
SK Hynix, the South Korean memory giant and undisputed leader in the global high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, is accelerating its entry onto Wall Street. The company plans to list on Nasdaq by issuing American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) under the ticker "SKHY," in what would be one of the largest U.S. listings by a foreign company in recent years.
## What Kind of Company Is SK Hynix?
SK Hynix was formerly Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd., established in 1983. It was spun off from Hyundai Group in 2001 and renamed Hynix Semiconductor. After being acquired by SK Group in 2012, it was renamed SK Hynix. The company is headquartered in Icheon, South Korea, and its current CEO is Kwak Noh-jung. Its core business is memory semiconductors, including DRAM, NAND Flash, and MCP.
In 2002, the company fell into distress due to a debt crisis and planned to sell itself to Micron Technology (MU), but the deal fell through. Weighed down by falling global memory chip prices, it recorded an operating loss of approximately 7.73 trillion won in 2023. Two years later, it has become a leading global supplier of AI memory.
Samsung Electronics' business spans consumer electronics, logic chips, and memory chips. SK Hynix focuses on memory chips, allowing it to benefit more directly from growing demand for AI-driven HBM.
The company positioned its HBM technology before the sharp surge in AI demand, building its industry-leading position with products such as HBM2E. It currently supplies memory products required for AI chips to clients including Nvidia (NVDA) and Google (GOOGL). Its partnership with Nvidia has evolved from component procurement into deep strategic integration.
## U.S. Listing Timeline and Plan
SK Hynix's plans for a U.S. listing are progressing faster than expected. In March 2026, the company confidentially submitted a registration statement for an initial public offering of ADRs to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On June 24, SK Hynix announced plans to issue depositary receipts worth up to 45.45 trillion won (approximately $29.4 billion). Bank of America, Citi (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), and JPMorgan (JPM) will serve as lead underwriters.
According to the company's announcement, the depositary receipts are expected to begin trading on Nasdaq on July 10. Each ADR is priced at 255,500 won. The final amount raised may be adjusted after the bookbuilding process is complete. SK Hynix stated that the proceeds will be used for construction of Phase 1 of the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster wafer fab, the Cheongju P&T7 advanced packaging plant, and equipment investments, including EUV lithography machines.
**Key Milestones**
| Timeline | Details |
|---|---|
| Confidential filing (March 2026) | Confidentially submitted the registration statement for the ADR public offering to the SEC |
| Underwriters appointed (April 2026) | Citigroup, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America serve as lead underwriters |
| Non-deal roadshow (early June 2026) | Completed roadshow for overseas institutional investors |
| Board approval and SEC step (June 24, 2026) | The board of directors approved the plan to issue ADRs and list on Nasdaq; the SEC is expected to approve the ADR listing application in the coming days |
| Listing date (tentative, July 10, 2026) | Planned Nasdaq listing |
## Choosing Nasdaq for the Listing
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won stated that a U.S. listing helps expand the shareholder base beyond South Korea and increases exposure to U.S. and international investors. At the annual shareholders' meeting, CEO Kwak Noh-jung said the company hopes to have its value re-evaluated in the U.S. market alongside major global tech firms.
## Year-to-Date Share Price and Financial Performance
Since the beginning of 2026, SK Hynix's stock price has risen more than 300% cumulatively and more than 800% over the past year. During intraday trading on June 22, the stock briefly rose more than 6% to 2.95 million won, pushing its total market capitalization past 2,082 trillion won. For a moment, it overtook Samsung Electronics as the most valuable listed company on the KOSPI. This was the first time since November 2000 that Samsung Electronics lost its position as South Korea's most valuable company. [Source: TradingView]
SK Hynix reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of 52.58 trillion won, up 198% year over year, and operating profit of 37.61 trillion won, up 405% year over year. This represented an operating margin of 72%, higher than Nvidia's 65% over the same period.
| Metric | Value | Year-over-Year Change |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 52.58 trillion won | +198% |
| Operating profit | 37.61 trillion won | +405% |
| Operating margin | 72% | Record high |
Market consensus expects second-quarter operating profit to range between 62 trillion and 65 trillion won, and some brokerages have already raised their forecasts to more than 68 trillion won.
For full-year 2025, SK Hynix's revenue reached 97.15 trillion won, up 47% year over year, while operating profit rose 101% to 47.21 trillion won. This marked the first time its annual operating profit surpassed Samsung Electronics'. HBM sales more than doubled year over year, and HBM's share of total revenue rose to 42%.
## Global HBM Competitive Landscape
HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) is a high-speed memory technology that stacks multiple layers of DRAM and places them in close proximity to AI chips. It is a critical component of AI servers running large language models. SK Hynix's dominance in this market is unquestioned:
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Global HBM market share | Approximately 58% (Q1 2026, Counterpoint Research) |
| Overall market estimate | Maintained at 70% to 80% |
| Nvidia HBM supply share | Over 60%, serving as Nvidia's primary HBM supplier |
| Expected HBM4 market share | Projected to exceed 50% |
| Nvidia Vera Rubin orders | Has secured over two-thirds of HBM supply orders |
According to the latest data released by Counterpoint Research on June 25, 2026, SK Hynix held the top spot in the global HBM market in the first quarter of 2026 with a 58% revenue share. Samsung Electronics and Micron each accounted for 21%, tying for second place.
Samsung Electronics is actively catching up. It took the lead in mass-producing HBM4 in February to supply Nvidia. On June 5, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang confirmed that SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron have all passed qualification and begun producing HBM4 for Nvidia's next-generation AI platform, Vera Rubin. As AI chip power consumption approaches 1,000 watts and stacked layers continue to rise, thermal management is becoming a new focus of HBM technological competition. The three major manufacturers are launching differentiated cooling solutions: iHBM, HPB, and TSV liquid cooling, respectively.
## What Are the Available Channels for Investing in SK Hynix?
**Channel 1: Directly Purchasing SK Hynix ADRs (Coming Soon)**
SK Hynix will list on Nasdaq in the form of ADRs. Once listed, U.S. investors will be able to trade SK Hynix stock directly in U.S. dollars through their U.S. brokerage accounts. Following the listing, SK Hynix ADRs are expected to be included in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX), which could further attract asset allocation from passive funds.
**Channel 2: Purchasing via the Korean Stock Market (Overseas Trading Permission Required)**
SK Hynix is currently traded on the Korea Exchange under the ticker 000660.KS. However, buying Korean stocks directly requires enabling Korean stock trading permissions or using sub-brokerage (overseas stock purchasing) services, which is relatively complex. In addition to the underlying stock, investors can also buy SK Hynix-related ETFs and 2x leveraged products on the Korean market.
**Channel 3: Investing in U.S. Semiconductor ETFs (Indirect Holding)**
Several U.S.-listed ETFs currently hold positions in SK Hynix:
- **Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM):** Launched on April 2, 2026, this is the market's first "pure-play memory ETF," with more than 50% of its revenue derived from HBM-related businesses. Its holdings include memory chip companies that are relatively difficult for U.S. investors to buy directly, such as SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, and Kioxia.
- **Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF (FLKR):** Tracks the FTSE South Korea Index, with holdings highly concentrated in South Korean large-cap stocks. SK Hynix is the largest holding at 31.33%, and the top two holdings (SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics) together account for more than 51%.
- **iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY):** The largest South Korea ETF in the U.S. market, with SK Hynix as its top holding at nearly 30%. Samsung Electronics' holding exceeds 20%, and the two together account for approximately 48% of the fund's total assets. Since the start of 2026, this ETF has gained more than 90%.
**Channel 4: Taiwan-Listed ETNs**
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