On August 13, 2026, CNBC reported that SK hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY) is spending $720 billion on what it calls the largest network of memory factories in the world. This buildout is so large that South Korea's president is urging both SK Hynix and rival Samsung to add capacity even faster under a national plan to double the country's memory production within five years.
SK Hynix expects huge AI memory demand to stay strong permanently rather than follow the usual cycles of high sales and sudden crashes. That raises the real question: does this scale of investment lock in SK Hynix's lead for years or set up a painful oversupply problem if AI memory demand ever slows?
SK hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY) controlled 58% of the high-bandwidth memory market in the first quarter, well ahead of Samsung and Micron at 21% each. Its market cap has jumped more than fivefold in the past year to top $1 trillion. The firm raised $26.5 billion in July by listing on the Nasdaq, the most ever raised by a foreign company on US markets. It has signed 10 long-term supply agreements with major customers, including a $500 billion co-development deal with Nvidia. SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won said demand is like "a war," with everybody wanting to buy memory chips.
However, SK hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY)'s Nasdaq-listed shares have already fallen about 21% from their July 14 high, closing recently at $154.41 amid broader AI-trade volatility. The buildout is so large it shrinks DRAM supply for ordinary consumer electronics, and Chey himself admitted "prices went up too fast," acknowledging the boom carries real excess.
Samsung is being pushed by the same government-backed national plan and could see a similar surge in shareholder returns. KB Securities ******* ysts expect more than a tenfold increase. A report that Singapore's Temasek plans to invest directly in Samsung sent its shares up 6.7% in a single day.
#NASDAQ #samsung
SK Hynix expects huge AI memory demand to stay strong permanently rather than follow the usual cycles of high sales and sudden crashes. That raises the real question: does this scale of investment lock in SK Hynix's lead for years or set up a painful oversupply problem if AI memory demand ever slows?
SK hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY) controlled 58% of the high-bandwidth memory market in the first quarter, well ahead of Samsung and Micron at 21% each. Its market cap has jumped more than fivefold in the past year to top $1 trillion. The firm raised $26.5 billion in July by listing on the Nasdaq, the most ever raised by a foreign company on US markets. It has signed 10 long-term supply agreements with major customers, including a $500 billion co-development deal with Nvidia. SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won said demand is like "a war," with everybody wanting to buy memory chips.
However, SK hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY)'s Nasdaq-listed shares have already fallen about 21% from their July 14 high, closing recently at $154.41 amid broader AI-trade volatility. The buildout is so large it shrinks DRAM supply for ordinary consumer electronics, and Chey himself admitted "prices went up too fast," acknowledging the boom carries real excess.
Samsung is being pushed by the same government-backed national plan and could see a similar surge in shareholder returns. KB Securities ******* ysts expect more than a tenfold increase. A report that Singapore's Temasek plans to invest directly in Samsung sent its shares up 6.7% in a single day.
#NASDAQ #samsung
4 days ago
