SK Hynix plans to list in the U.S. to raise $29.4 billion, setting a new record for the largest ADR issuance.

SK Hynix announces plan to issue American Depositary Receipts (ADR) in the United States, aiming to raise about 45.45 trillion Korean won (approximately $29.4 billion). This move will set a new record for the largest ADR issuance in history and represents another milestone mega financing in the capital markets amid the global AI infrastructure boom.

According to regulatory filings submitted by SK Hynix on Wednesday, the company plans to list on Nasdaq, with trading expected to begin July 10. This issuance will represent about 2.5% of the company’s current outstanding shares, totaling 17.8 million ADRs, with each ADR representing 10 common shares. The raised funds will be used for building new chip factories in South Korea and purchasing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment. After the news was released, SK Hynix’s after-hours share price on the Seoul exchange rose 2.7%.

At the current exchange rate, the size of this issuance could rank among the top five in history, on par with Saudi Aramco’s record IPO in 2019, and will surpass Alibaba’s $25 billion ADR listing record in 2014. Analysts generally believe that listing in the US will help SK Hynix access a broader base of global investors and is likely to narrow the long-standing valuation discount compared to its US peers.

This issuance is the latest annotation of the AI financing boom. According to Bloomberg, SpaceX just completed the largest IPO in history this month, Alphabet announced plans to raise $85 billion to advance its AI ambitions, and Anthropic and OpenAI may each launch multibillion-dollar fundraising rounds this year. Amid a flurry of mega issuances, SK Hynix’s offering will be an important gauge of investor risk appetite and market absorption capacity.

Leading the global HBM market, Q1 results set record highs

SK Hynix is a core supplier in the AI chip industry chain, and its High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) is a key bottleneck component for expanding data center AI computing power. According to Counterpoint Research, in Q4 2025, the company is expected to hold 57% of global HBM market share by revenue, with Korean companies collectively controlling about 80% of global supply. SK Hynix is also Nvidia’s primary HBM supplier and was recently selected by Microsoft as a supporting supplier for its in-house AI chips.

Strong market demand continues to drive record-setting financial results. In April, SK Hynix announced Q1 operating profit of 3.761 trillion Korean won, up around five times year-on-year, exceeding the average analyst estimate of 3.57 trillion won. Revenue nearly tripled to 5.258 trillion won. Since the beginning of the year, SK Hynix's shares listed in Seoul have risen about 300%, its market value surpassed 1 trillion dollars, and this week it overtook Samsung Electronics as Korea’s largest listed company by market cap.

Indrani De, global investment research director at FTSE Russell, said, "SK Hynix's outstanding performance reflects its first-mover advantage in HBM competition and the strong demand for its HBM chips. In the HBM market dominated by Korean companies, supply shortages are expected to persist for several years."

Benchmarking TSMC ADR, aiming to bridge the valuation gap

Despite strong fundamentals, SK Hynix’s valuation in the Seoul market has long lagged behind US peers such as Micron. Analysts widely interpret the US listing as a strategic move to reshape valuation using US market liquidity.

Jon Withaar, investment portfolio manager at Pictet Asset Management in Singapore, said, "One major driver for this listing is undoubtedly the success of TSMC ADRs—TSMC ADRs have ample liquidity, have long traded at a premium to local stocks in Taiwan, and are favored by global investors." Since TSMC issued ADRs in 1997, it has become one of the core companies for US investors investing in the AI supply chain.

UBS analyst Nicolas Gaudois pointed out that the size and timing of this issuance basically match market expectations. SK Hynix is expected to maintain SK Square’s shareholding above 20% (currently about 20.5%) through share buybacks, and may further increase liquidity by issuing more shares in the US market over time.

CLSA analyst Sanjeev Rana said that listing in the US will help boost liquidity and propel share price growth. "If they achieve a valuation multiple similar to Micron’s, then Korean local stocks will have to respond accordingly. The market expects this, and the rally may well continue," he said.

Kevin Net, head of Asia equities at Financière de l'Echiquier, said, "Although there may be short-term selling pressure due to profit-taking, overall this news is positive for SK Hynix. Listing will provide more funds for further investment, increase the possibility of enhanced shareholder returns, and help reduce the valuation discount to Micron."

This issuance is jointly underwritten by Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan. The final issuance size may be adjusted after bookbuilding.

Strong gains, but volatility risks can't be ignored

SK Hynix’s US financing is part of a broader expansion strategy for Korea’s semiconductor industry. SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics have both entered the world's top 20 companies by market capitalization, and together account for more than half of Korea’s total market value, triggering rising concerns about market structure concentration.

According to the UK’s Financial Times, SK Hynix and Samsung are negotiating with the Korean government over building a new semiconductor manufacturing cluster. President Kim Yong-beom’s economic policy advisor said Wednesday the two companies need to accelerate construction of new chip factories, moving the completion timeline up over ten years ahead of schedule, targeting operational launch by 2034 to 2035.

This financing announcement comes after two days of sharp swings in global memory chip stocks. On Tuesday, global semiconductor stocks sank broadly, sparked by media reports in Korea that SK Hynix was slowing expansion of AI memory chip capacity, shaking confidence in the AI build-out cycle.

Related stocks have surged over the past year, but doubts about the sustainability of the rally have also increased. Whether the AI build-out boom can continue is increasingly becoming the key variable determining semiconductor sector performance, and wavering investor sentiment between confidence and caution has led to frequent sharp swings in related names.

Risk warning and disclaimerThe market carries risks. Investment requires caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account special investment goals, financial situations, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, viewpoints, or conclusions herein suit their particular circumstances. Investment based on this is at your own risk.