AI boom puts SK Hynix on cusp of US$1 trillion market value

A man uses a computer keyboard in Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

SK Hynix is on the verge of topping a US$1 trillion market value, just weeks after Samsung Electronics crossed the milestone, as strong demand for artificial intelligence places South Korea at the heart of Asia’s AI boom.

SK Hynix shares have risen more than 200 per cent this year, after rising an eye-watering 274 per cent in 2025, driven by AI-related demand for both conventional memory chips and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI servers.

Valued at less than $100 billion just 16 months ago, SK Hynix’s market capitalization stood at roughly $942 billion at the close of trading on Thursday.

If SK Hynix reaches the milestone, South Korea would become the first country outside the United States to have more than one trillion-dollar company. Taiwan’s TSMC remains Asia’s biggest company by market value at over $1.83 trillion.

The three chipmakers and their record earnings have put the spotlight on their critical role in the global AI supply chain, in contrast to Silicon Valley companies whose heavy spending on chips and technology makes them riskier bets.

On Thursday, SK Hynix shares closed down 0.3 per cent, while the broader KOSPI ended up 1.75 per cent at 7,981.41. The index has been on a tear, up more than 86 per cent this year after soaring 75 per cent in 2025 in its strongest annual performance since 1999.

KB Securities raised its year-end target for KOSPI, the best-performing major stock market in the world since the start of 2025, by 40 per cent to 10,500 points.

“My theory is that the market is running on FOMO sentiments, especially on AI-related names in Japan and Korea,” said Fabien Yip, market analyst at IG in Sydney, referring to investors’ “fear of missing out” on potential returns.

Boost from Samsung woes

Shares of SK Hynix could stand to benefit from labor woes at rival Samsung, although not over the long term, analysts say.

Samsung’s South Korean union, furious over what it calls a massive gap in bonus pay with SK Hynix, has planned an 18-day strike from May 21 if its demands are not met.

Samsung and its union failed to reach a pay deal this week. The company, however, has urged for talks to be resumed, while South Korea’s Labour Commission has also called on both sides to hold another round of government-mediated talks on Saturday.

Analysts say Samsung’s rivals such as SK Hynix, Micron and TSMC could benefit from spillover demand in the event of a strike, but warn that a prolonged strike could eventually weigh on the broader chip supply chain.

(Reporting by Heekyong Yang, Jihoon Lee and Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul, Ankur Banerjee and Gregor Stuart Hunter in Singapore; Editing by Himani Sarkar)