SK Hynix has overtaken Samsung Electronics to become South Korea’s most valuable listed company, a symbolic shift driven by the explosive growth of artificial intelligence and demand for advanced memory chips.
Reuters reported that the milestone was reached on Monday as SK Hynix shares climbed sharply, briefly pushing its market capitalisation to about 2,082.5 trillion won ($1.35 trillion), slightly ahead of Samsung Electronics’ 2,081.3 trillion won (excluding preferred shares), which rose more modestly in the same session.
The surge crowns a remarkable turnaround for SK Hynix, now the world’s leading memory chipmaker, after its aggressive focus on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) positioned it at the centre of the AI hardware ecosystem.
Its chips are widely used in AI systems powering platforms from Nvidia to Google, making it one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global AI investment boom.
The company’s shares have surged more than 340% this year alone.
SK Hynix’s dominance in HBM—advanced stacked memory that delivers higher speed and efficiency than traditional DRAM, has transformed what was once a cyclical commodity business into a high-margin, strategically critical industry segment.
Analysts say this shift has given the company stronger pricing power and deeper integration with AI processors.
“The emergence of customised AI memory fundamentally changed the industry’s economics and allowed SK Hynix to establish itself as the market leader,” said Kim Sunwoo, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities.
Samsung, however, argued that its valuation should be calculated differently. Samsung said in a statement that any calculation of its market capitalisation should include preferred shares, which would bring the value to around 2,252 trillion won.
SK Hynix’s ascent marks one of the most dramatic corporate reversals in South Korea’s industrial history.
The company, originally founded in 1983 under Hyundai, once came close to collapse in the early 2000s and was even linked to a potential sale to Micron Technology before the deal collapsed. It later spent years under creditor control after heavy debt burdens.
By 2003, its stock had collapsed to just 135 won, earning it the reputation of a penny stock locally known as “Dongjeon-ju.” Its fortunes then tracked the volatile memory chip cycle for years, including a major downturn in 2023 when it posted an operating loss of 7.73 trillion won.
Recovery began as AI demand accelerated globally, with major tech companies increasing infrastructure spending. By 2024, SK Hynix reported a record operating profit of 23.5 trillion won.
Analysts attribute the company’s turnaround to its early and sustained investment in HBM technology during industry downturns, when competitors scaled back.
Unlike conventional memory products, HBM chips are tightly integrated with AI processors, creating significantly higher barriers to entry and giving suppliers greater pricing power.
By 2025, SK Hynix controlled about 61% of the global HBM market, compared with 17% for Samsung Electronics and 21% for Micron.
SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won reflected on the strategy behind acquiring the troubled chipmaker in comments published earlier this year, “What I really wanted to accomplish when we acquired Hynix was to transform it from a commodity memory producer into a mainstream semiconductor company whose products are indispensable,” Chey said.
He added, “In the past, it did not matter whether memory came from Hynix, Samsung or Micron. They were interchangeable commodity products. HBM is different. If SK Hynix’s HBM is replaced with another product, the AI system may not function properly. What used to be a peripheral component has become a core component,” Chey said.
Market analysts note that Samsung’s long-held dominance in DRAM manufacturing could also face growing pressure from SK Hynix as capacity gaps narrow.
Bank of America estimates SK Hynix’s DRAM output will reach about 589,000 wafers monthly this year, compared with Samsung’s 691,000, with SK Hynix expected to expand output significantly faster through 2028.
“Previously, the difference in manufacturing scale meant there was simply no way for rivals to close the profitability gap with Samsung,” said Kim.
The company is also reportedly considering a Nasdaq listing in the United States, a move that would further expand its global investor base and strengthen its international profile.
