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SK hynix (KRX: 000660), one of Korea's industrial titans, is expected to list American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) in the United States in what may be the largest listing in history, eclipsing the ADR of Alibaba in 2014. Founded in 1983 as Hyundai Electronics, the company has grown into one of the most pivotal parts of the semiconductor/GPU value chain.
Jake Behan, Head of Capital Markets at Direxion"The biggest story isn't the listing itself, its that one of the world's premier AI memory companies will now become much easier for U.S. traders to own."
SK hynix sits at a critical node in the AI hardware value chain, working alongside partners like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM) to turn specialized inputs into high-bandwidth memory (HBM). HBM, which consists of vertically stacked DRAM, delivers enormous bandwidth to chipsets for Nvidia's H100, H200, and Blackwell accelerators, AMD's MI300 series, and others. Being this pivot point allows it to command what is effectively a royalty-like cut of every accelerator unit. With Nvidia and others reporting record sales and earnings, that flows right through to SK hynix. Every GPU sold is HBM sold.
SK hynix’s recent performance saw it briefly pass Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd (KRX: 005930) to become the largest constituent of the KOSPI and largest company by market cap in South Korea.
The ADR offering changes the way US investors can access this HBM giant. It is seeking to raise up to $29 billion in capital by issuing 17.79 million shares. US investors will be able to buy these shares easily from a brokerage account instead of trading them on the Korea Exchange.
It’s important to note that SK hynix does not own the HBM market outright. Samsung and Micron (NASDAQ: MU) are both spending to close the gap as a new standard (HBM4) comes down the pipeline. Looking back at prior generations, the company that managed to match performance with volume first generally led the pack. A stumble from SK hynix as HBM4 transitions to be the new standard could easily open the door to rivals. Additionally, if AI demand drops off or other macro forces impact the supply chain, there could be a cyclical shift, which is not unusual for the memory market.
For now, SK hynix holds the lead, and as long as it does, every accelerator sold runs through it.
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Sources:
1 “South Korea’s biggest chipmaker SK hynix plans to raise $29 billion via Nasdaq listing as soon as July 10” CNBC, June 24, 2026, https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/24/sk-hynix-nasdaq-adr-listing-south-korea.html.
2 Korea Exchange, "Global KRX," accessed June 29, 2026, https://global.krx.co.kr/main/main.jsp.
3 "SK hynix Caps Come-From-Behind AI Success With US Stock Listing," Bloomberg, June 24, 2026, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-24/sk-hynix-looks-to-raise-29-4-billion-with-new-us-lising.