"Storage giants crowd into US stocks! After SK Hynix, will Samsung Electronics also list on the US stock market?"

South Korea’s memory chip giants are triggering a wave of listings in the U.S. Following SK Hynix’s announcement this week that it will apply for an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) listing, Samsung Electronics’ major shareholders are publicly urging Samsung to follow suit.

Asset management company Artisan Partners, one of Samsung Electronics’ top ten institutional shareholders, said in a New York interview that it hopes SK Hynix’s move will “encourage Samsung to take similar action.” David Samra, managing director of Artisan, said that the company believes Samsung has “actively assessed the costs and benefits” of ADR listing for many years.

The core logic behind an ADR listing is valuation correction—Korean memory chip giants currently trade at valuations noticeably below their U.S. peers. A U.S. listing is expected to open up channels for foreign capital inflows, facilitating a revaluation of their worth.

SK Hynix Fires the First Shot; Pressure Mounts for Samsung to Follow

SK Hynix submitted an ADR listing application this week, becoming the first Korean memory chip company to take this step. Its CEO defines the U.S. listing as a proactive move to address valuation discount and attract global capital.

Against this backdrop, the market’s attention immediately shifted to the larger Samsung. Samra pointed out that ordinary U.S. investors “simply cannot buy Samsung shares” due to the lack of direct investment channels in Korean-listed stocks, which objectively suppresses Samsung’s pricing level.

Over the past year, Korea’s benchmark index Kospi rose by 109%, Samsung by about 191%, and SK Hynix soared by around 345%, making both companies the core engines of Korea’s robust stock market rally. Samsung currently has Global Depositary Receipts (GDR) listed in London, after delisting from Luxembourg at the end of 2024.

Valuation Gap: Why Korean Chip Stocks Are "Discounted" for the Long Term

The valuation discount of Korean memory chip stocks is the core logic driving the current ADR listing discussion. Samra said Samsung’s current price-to-book ratio is below 3, far lower than Micron Technology’s, and this gap largely stems from insufficient liquidity and inefficient information flow.

“Simply with more liquidity flowing in, they can achieve better valuations,” Samra said. “Investor information channels will also be smoother.” He considers that for Samsung, valuation enhancement is the primary motivation for considering a U.S. listing, rather than a capital requirement. Samsung’s financial strength is sufficient to support its capital expenditure plans without relying on equity financing.

Although Samsung’s share price has nearly tripled in the past year, Samra believes its valuation has reverted from “cheap” to “reasonable,” with price-to-book still below 3. “We think the current pricing is relatively fair, with little margin of safety,” he said. “But we don’t think it’s overvalued in any way.”

TSMC’s "ADR Effect" Provides a Reference Sample

TSMC’s ADR listing provides Samsung with a highly convincing precedent. In 1997, TSMC raised $520 million through ADR issuance, and now its total market value approaches $1.7 trillion.

ADR listing enabled TSMC to continuously attract overseas capital inflows, cementing its status as a core holding for U.S. investors during the AI-driven market rally.

In addition to active investors, ETFs tracking U.S. stocks also saw massive inflows, further boosting the premium of TSMC ADR over its shares listed in Taipei—at one point exceeding 30% last year.

Samra believes Samsung can replicate this path. Amid relentless demand for AI infrastructure construction, the strategic position of memory chips is increasingly prominent. Whether Samsung can utilize ADRs to access U.S. capital markets will be key to reshaping its long-term valuation.

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