SK Hynix Overtakes Samsung at $1.35 Trillion as AI Memory Boom Rewrites Chip Rankings
Updated
Updated · Reuters · Jun 22
SK Hynix Overtakes Samsung at $1.35 Trillion as AI Memory Boom Rewrites Chip Rankings
3 articles · Updated · Reuters · Jun 22
Summary
SK Hynix's market capitalization reached 2,082.5 trillion won ($1.35 trillion) on Monday, edging past Samsung Electronics' 2,081.3 trillion won for the first time since Samsung took the top spot in 2000.
A 5.7% share gain capped a rally of more than 340% this year, driven by SK Hynix's dominance in high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI systems by customers including Nvidia and Google.
HBM has given SK Hynix stronger pricing power and higher barriers to entry; by 2025 it held 61% of the global HBM market, versus Samsung's 17% and Micron's 21%.
Samsung disputed the ranking, saying its preferred shares should be included, which would lift its market value to about 2,252 trillion won.
The milestone underscores a broader turnaround from SK Hynix's 7.73 trillion won operating loss in 2023 to a record 23.5 trillion won profit in 2024, with a planned U.S. listing poised to widen its investor base.