SK Hynix Shatters Records with $26.5B Nasdaq Launch, Stock Soars by 13%
South Korean memory chip titan, SK Hynix, marked a momentous Wall Street debut on Friday, July 10, 2026. The company raised an impressive $26.5 billion, setting the record for the largest U.S. share sale by a foreign company. This achievement outshines Alibaba’s $25 billion offering in 2014. SK Hynix’s American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) commenced trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker SKHYV, transitioning to SKHY on the following Monday, with an initial price of $149 per share. By the close of the trading day, shares had ascended to $168.01, reflecting a gain of approximately 13%.
The investor response was overwhelming. Demand reportedly exceeded the number of available shares sevenfold even before the deal was priced. SK Hynix Chairman, Chey Tae-won, who had the honor of ringing the bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, told CNBC, “The demand is enormous, exponentially.”
The listing provides U.S. investors with direct access to the world’s leading manufacturer of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. These specialized AI memory chips power nearly every Nvidia processor. SK Hynix dominates the global HBM market with a commanding 56.4% share. The company intends to use the proceeds to augment its chipmaking facilities in South Korea and fund a $4 billion advanced packaging plant in West Lafayette, Indiana. With a market capitalization exceeding $1 trillion, SK Hynix joins Samsung as the only other Korean company to reach this milestone.
Source: CNBC – SK Hynix rises 13% in Nasdaq debut