Just weeks after Samsung Electronics achieved the milestone, SK Hynix is poised to surpass a $1 trillion market valuation as robust demand for AI places South Korea at the center of Asia’s AI boom.
Due to AI-related demand for both conventional memory chips and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI servers, SK Hynix shares have increased more than 200% this year after soaring an astounding 274% in 2025.
At the end of trade on Thursday, SK Hynix’s market capitalization was over $942 billion, compared to less than $100 billion just sixteen months ago.
South Korea would become the first nation outside of the US to have more than one trillion-dollar firm if SK Hynix hits the milestone.
With a market value of more than $1.83 trillion, Taiwan’s TSMC continues to be Asia’s largest corporation.
Unlike Silicon Valley businesses, which are riskier investments due to their hefty spending on chips and technology, the three chipmakers’ record results have highlighted their crucial role in the global AI supply chain.
While the larger KOSPI ended up 1.75% at 7,981.41 on Thursday, SK Hynix shares closed down 0.3%. After surging 75% in 2025—its best annual performance since 1999—the index has stayed on the rise, rising more than 86% this year.
KB Securities increased its year-end target by 40% to 10,500 points for KOSPI, the world’s top-performing major stock market since the beginning of 2025.
In reference to investors’ “fear of missing out” on possible gains, Fabien Yip, a market analyst at IG in Sydney, stated, “My theory is that the market is running on FOMO sentiments, especially on AI-related names in Japan and Korea.”
SAMSUNG WOES BOOST
The labor problems at rival Samsung may help SK Hynix’s stock, but not in the long run, according to analysts.
Enraged by what it claims is a huge bonus pay disparity with SK Hynix, Samsung’s South Korean union has scheduled an 18-day walkout starting on May 21 if its demands are not fulfilled.
This week, Samsung and its union were unable to come to a salary agreement.
However, South Korea’s Labor Commission has also called for both parties to hold another round of government-mediated negotiations on Saturday, and the corporation has requested the resumption of talks.
In the event of a strike, analysts say Samsung’s competitors like SK Hynix, Micron, and TSMC could profit from spillover demand, but they caution that a protracted strike could eventually have an impact on the whole chip supply chain.
