SK Hynix tops $1 trillion in AI rally
Chipmaker surge lifts South Korea market to record highs
SK Hynix’s market value topped $1 trillion after shares surged in an AI-driven rally that has propelled major memory-chip makers to new highs. The stock climbed about 15% at one point, lifting SK Hynix’s valuation to roughly $1.1 trillion and helping push South Korea’s KOSPI index to record levels. The company joins Samsung Electronics and U.S.-listed Micron Technology in crossing the trillion-dollar mark as demand soars for high-end memory used in AI accelerators and data-center workloads.
Analysts point to tightened supply and rising prices for advanced memory and high-bandwidth memory products—components essential for AI training and inference on GPUs from firms such as Nvidia. Brokerages have sharply raised targets across the sector; UBS recently more than tripled its price target for Micron, citing structural changes the AI boom has brought to the memory market. Taiwan’s TSMC remains another Asian firm in the trillion-dollar group.
After the rally, Samsung and SK Hynix together represented roughly half of KOSPI by market capitalization, making South Korea the first country outside the United States to host more than one company valued above $1 trillion. The milestone reflects investor confidence in the semiconductor industry’s central role in AI expansion and underscores increased capital spending on advanced manufacturing and memory technologies.
Observers caution, however, that the semiconductor industry is cyclical and intensely competitive. Sustaining elevated valuations will depend on continued robust AI demand, successful expansion of production capacity, and geopolitical stability across supply chains. Markets will be watching whether memory prices and margins hold as suppliers scale output to meet the AI-driven surge in orders.
