SK Hynix's market value soars, approaching the $1 trillion mark！

The artificial intelligence (AI) wave has pushed South Korea's chip giant SK Hynix to the threshold of a $1 trillion market capitalization, just days after Samsung Electronics crossed this milestone. South Korea is rapidly becoming the core engine of the AI boom in Asia.

SK Hynix's current market capitalization is approximately $948 billion, just a step away from the $1 trillion mark. If it succeeds in breaking through, South Korea will become the first country outside the United States to have two companies with a market capitalization of over $1 trillion. Samsung achieved this milestone earlier this month.

Driven by the strong demand for traditional memory chips and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) required by AI servers, SK Hynix's share price has risen by 190% this year. Coupled with the astonishing 274% increase for the full year of 2025, its market value has soared from less than $100 billion 16 months ago to a level approaching that of Walmart and Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Warren Buffett. On Thursday, SK Hynix's share price slightly dropped by 0.48%, while Samsung's rose by more than 3% to a record high.

Driven by FOMO sentiment, foreign capital continues to pour into South Korean stocks.

The fundamental driving force behind SK Hynix's recent surge in market value comes from the massive demand for memory chips in the construction of AI infrastructure. Its high-bandwidth memory products, as key components of AI servers, have taken an irreplaceable position in the global supply chain.

The record-breaking performances of SK Hynix, Samsung and TSMC, the three chipmakers, jointly highlight their pivotal roles in the global AI supply chain. TSMC remains the company with the highest market value in Asia, with a market capitalization of over 1.83 trillion US dollars.

Market sentiment is also a significant force driving this round of market movement. Fabien Yip, a market analyst at IG in Sydney, said, "The market is being driven by FOMO (fear of missing out) sentiment, particularly in AI-related stocks in Japan and South Korea."

The benchmark KOSPI index in South Korea has been climbing almost vertically, with foreign capital pouring into the chip sector. The index has risen by more than 86% so far this year, after a 75% increase in 2025, marking its strongest annual performance since 1999 and making it one of the best-performing major stock markets globally in 2025. The KOSPI hit a new all-time high earlier this week and rose 0.9% on Thursday, coming close to its record high.

If SK Hynix successfully breaks through the one trillion US dollar market capitalization, South Korea will write a historic page in the global capital market landscape - becoming the first country outside the United States to have two listed companies with a market capitalization of over one trillion US dollars simultaneously.

Currently, SK Hynix's market value is on par with retail giant Walmart and Berkshire Hathaway, while 16 months ago, the company's market value was less than $100 billion.

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