SK Hynix Surpasses 260,000 Won, Narrowing Market Cap Gap with Samsung Electronics

On the 17th, SK Hynix achieved a milestone, hitting '260,000 Hynixes' during trading.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 17th, SK Hynix closed at 249,000 won, up 0.40% (1,000 won) from the previous trading day. Compared to a month ago (closing price of 199,400 won on May 19), this represents a 24.8% increase.

The stock price rose to 250,500 won early in the session, reaching a 52-week high, and at one point traded at 260,000 won.

As of the close on the 17th, SK Hynix's market capitalization stood at 181.2725 trillion won, reaching approximately 52.70% of Samsung Electronics' market cap (343.9309 trillion won). This is a significant increase compared to just 39.10% on the first trading day of the year.

The primary driver behind this rise in stock price has been the aggressive buying by foreign investors. In May, foreign investors purchased SK Hynix shares on all but one of the nine trading days leading up to that date.

During this period, the net buying amount totaled 1.3394 trillion won, placing SK Hynix high on foreign investors' 'shopping lists.'

In April, foreign investors also turned to net buying after 10 months, purchasing SK Hynix shares worth 1.4759 trillion won.

Recovery in Semiconductor Industry and AI Market Leadership

The heightened interest from foreign investors stems from the positive earnings outlook for SK Hynix. First, the general memory semiconductor market has recently shown signs of recovery.

PC manufacturers have proactively secured semiconductors in anticipation of tariffs from the Donald Trump administration, which has influenced the rise in memory prices.

In particular, SK Hynix has secured a leadership position in the HBM market for AI semiconductors, expecting continued performance growth unlike its competitors.

SK Hynix is part of the value chain for its largest customer, NVIDIA, dominating this market. NVIDIA is known to consume approximately 70% of the global HBM supply as a major player in AI.

Currently, SK Hynix is supplying its flagship product, the 5th generation HBM3E, almost exclusively to NVIDIA, and in March, it became the first in the industry to supply samples of the 6th generation HBM4.

The earnings forecast for the second quarter is also very bright.

According to financial information provider FnGuide, the projected sales for the upcoming second quarter are 20.3244 trillion won, representing a 6% increase compared to three months prior. The estimated operating profit is 8.7725 trillion won, which indicates a 16% increase during the same period.

Image sources: Reference photos for better understanding of the article / Photo = Insight, Reference photos for better understanding of the article / gettyimagesbank, View of the SK Hynix headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province / News1