Market AnalysisJun 25, 20262 Min
SK Hynix Tops Samsung as South Korea’s most valuable firm
In a major upturn, Samsung Electronics on Monday lost the title of being South Korea’s most valuable listed company after over 26 years.
Chipmaker SK Hynix challenged Samsung’s long-held dominance and became not just South Korea’s most valued firm on Monday, but also the world’s most valuable memory-chip company surpassing US rival Micron Technology.
Shares of SK Hynix rose as much as 6.5% in intraday trade on Monday to a record 2.95 million won, lifting its market capitalization to 208.1 trillion won, on the back of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.
The market valuation of Samsung Electronics, meanwhile, stood at 207.3 trillion won at the session’s high.
Samsung had first become South Korea’s most valuable listed company in July 1999 and has held that position since November 2000, when it overtook Korea Telecom, now KT Corp.
So far in the calendar year 2026, Samsung Electronics shares have gained almost 194%. In contrast, SK Hynix shares have surged 348% as the company is seen as the direct beneficiary of the AI boom.
SK Hynix is the leading supplier of HBM chips used in Nvidia’s AI accelerators. HBM chips enable AI processors to handle vast amounts of data at extraordinary speeds. They have become one of the most critical components in modern computing infrastructure as tech giants including Nvidia, Google, Microsoft and Meta race to expand AI capabilities and build next-generation data centers.
This high-frenzy AI activity has propelled demand for SK Hynix’s high-bandwidth memory chips, improving its earnings visibility substantially. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics’ growth trajectory remains stable with businesses spanning smartphones, televisions, consumer electronics, foundry services, logic chips and memory semiconductors.
Moreover, SK Hynix sees another golden opportunity for a re-rating as it prepares to access the US capital markets through its planned ADR (American depository receipt) offering.
The ADR issue is anticipated to launch as early as August 2026. SK Hynix expects to receive regulatory approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 22.
SK Hynix aims to raise $14 billion through the ADR listing, which will help it strengthen its leadership position in the global memory chip industry.
Last week, the South Korean chipmaker was also in the news when it announced that it has begun shipping samples of its newest, advanced 12-layer HBM4E chips to major global tech customers.
