SK hynix is expected to launch its Nasdaq listing as early as August 2026, according to a report by Korea Herald. The South Korean chipmaker confidentially filed for the listing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in March 2026 and has appointed Citigroup, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America to manage the share sale.
Potential Size of the Offering
The size of the offering remains uncertain, with estimates varying widely. Korea Herald reported that SK hynix could raise up to about USD 14 billion by selling around 2-3 per cent of its shares, citing Reuters. However, a company official said the 40 trillion won figure is an outside estimate built by the media and brokerages, not a figure the company has set. Approval is not a fixed-date event either.
Strategic Rationale for Nasdaq Listing
An American Depositary Receipt (ADR) allows US investors to buy shares of foreign companies in dollar terms. For SK hynix, the bigger attraction is gaining access to US investors who increasingly view memory chips as a critical component of the artificial intelligence supply chain rather than a cyclical commodity business. A Nasdaq listing would place SK hynix alongside US-listed peer Micron and could help the company secure a higher market valuation.
"On the Nasdaq it would trade on the same screens as Micron, its closest US-listed peer, and be priced by investors who treat memory chips as the scarce input for AI rather than a commodity that swings with the cycle," Korea Herald reported.
Financial Performance and Recent Developments
SK hynix reported an operating profit of 37.6 trillion won (USD 24.43 billion) in the first quarter of 2026. The company also shipped samples of its 12-layer HBM4E chips to major customers on June 17, 2026, and is investing about 31 trillion won in the first fabrication plant at its new Yongin semiconductor cluster south of Seoul.
"High-bandwidth memory has become the bottleneck in building AI accelerators, and the industry expects the shortage to persist," the report further noted.
