SK Hynix shares rose nearly 13% in their NASDAQ debut on Friday, giving the South Korean chipmaker a strong start in the US market. Its American depositary receipts opened at $170 and closed at $168.01, above the $149 offer price.
The company raised $26.5 billion through the sale, setting a record for the largest US initial share offering by a foreign company. The listing also gives American investors direct access to one of the main suppliers of memory chips for artificial intelligence systems, amid a busy IPO market.
SK Hynix sold 177.9 million American depositary receipts, with each ADR representing one-tenth of a common share. Demand exceeded the shares available by more than seven times, according to reports. The strong order book allowed the company to price the offer at $149 per ADR.
The shares traded under the temporary ticker SKHYV during Friday’s when-issued session. NASDAQ said the ticker will change to SKHY on Monday, July 13, when regular trading begins. The company’s main stock market listing will stay on the Korea Exchange.
SK Hynix leads the market for high-bandwidth memory, a type of chip placed close to advanced processors. HBM provides artificial intelligence systems with quick access to data for complex computing tasks. Nvidia uses the technology in graphics processors built for data centers.
Chairman Chey Tae-won said customer demand has stayed high as companies expand AI infrastructure. “The demand is enormous, exponentially,” he said. He also said customers asked for more supply after SK Hynix announced plans to double production capacity within five years.
The company supplies major technology firms, including Nvidia and Apple. Its regulatory filing said it holds 56.4% of the HBM market. Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology also produce HBM and storage chips for servers, phones, computers, and other electronic devices.
SK Hynix plans to use the proceeds from the US offering to finance factories and production equipment. The company is expanding capacity as memory shortages raise prices and limit supply across the technology sector. New chip plants take several years to build and prepare for production.
Part of the expansion includes a $4 billion advanced packaging facility in Indiana. The company also plans large manufacturing projects in South Korea, including a chip cluster in Yongin. These sites will support production of HBM and other memory products for AI servers.
Memory manufacturing has a long record of sharp supply cycles. High demand can lead chipmakers to add capacity, while later oversupply can push prices lower. SK Hynix said newer uses, including AI agents and robots, require more memory than earlier computing systems.
The US listing follows a steep rise in SK Hynix’s Korea-listed shares. The stock gained 634% over the past year, supported by higher memory prices and AI spending. Friday’s NASDAQ debut broadens the company’s investor base while its Seoul listing remains active.
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