SK Hynix crossed the $1 trillion market cap milestone on Wednesday after a 10%+ single-session rally in Seoul, becoming the third chipmaker ever — and first dedicated memory specialist — to reach that threshold. The surge is driven by SK Hynix holding roughly 70% of HBM4 orders for Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform, with full-year 2026 HBM capacity already sold out and shortages forecast into 2027. Each Rubin unit uses 288GB of HBM4 across eight stacks at 22 TB/s bandwidth, generating enormous unit economics for SK Hynix. Competitors Samsung and Micron lag behind in HBM4 qualification and market share. The company is also evaluating a US dual listing that could raise ~$14bn. Analysts caution that memory is historically cyclical, and the current valuation assumes sustained AI-driven demand through the decade.
