Poland – 09/05/2025: This photo illustration shows the SK Hynix logo on a smartphone against the background of the American flag. (Photo illustration: Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket, Getty Images)
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Global semiconductor giant SK Hynix will be listed on the Nasdaq on Friday, a test of whether the stock can break free from its long-standing “Korean undervalue”.
The “Korean discount” refers to the tendency for Korean companies to trade at lower valuations than their global peers due to concerns about corporate governance and opaque conglomerate structures.
Listing on Nasdaq through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) would give SK Hynix direct access to the world’s deepest pool of capital, but experts have argued that this could narrow this discount.
LSEG data showed that SK Hynix trades at just 4.8 times forward 12-month earnings, compared to the industry median of 29.84 times and its U.S. peers. micron technology6.6x, despite its leadership in the fast-growing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market.
“We don’t expect the Korean discount to be fully covered, but we think there is room to narrow the gap with the ADR listing,” Rolf Balck, head of semiconductors and infrastructure at Futuram Group, told CNBC.
Xavier Wong, a market analyst at multi-asset trading platform eToro, said the discrepancy between Micron’s and SK Hynix’s price-to-earnings ratios is mainly due to “access” and “name recognition.” Despite SK Hynix having a stronger position in the AI memory field, its valuation has remained at a low level for many years due to limited access to US funds.
“An increase in Hynix’s stock price is not the same as a narrowing of the discount rate. Therefore, although the price has increased, the gap with Micron has not narrowed,” Wong said.
According to LSEG, Micron’s stock has soared nearly 250% this year, while SK Hynix has also soared 240%.
Peter Kim, global investment strategist at KB Financial Group, agreed that the listing should improve access for overseas investors who have traditionally faced hurdles in purchasing Korean stocks.
“Added access could help global investors trade Hynix stock, which still trades at a discount to KOSPI, Micron and Samsung,” he said. “Listing on Nasdaq would be a major factor in reducing the discount rate, as the listing requirements for listing would alleviate some of the concerns of U.S. investors.”
Nasdaq’s listing rules require companies to meet financial and liquidity standards, including minimum market capitalization, publicly traded shares, number of shareholders, and stock price requirements. Corporate governance standards also apply to listed companies, covering areas such as audit committees, director independence, and shareholder voting rights.
Investor access
The ADRs are priced at $149 each and the oversubscribed IPO means the company will raise about $26.5 billion, but analysts said access to U.S. investors could ultimately prove more valuable than the capital itself.
Ji Chung, an associate director at S&P Global Ratings, said SK Hynix’s IPO will partially support the company’s expansion in capital spending, which is expected to amount to between 50 trillion won and 70 trillion won annually over the next two years, but will mostly be financed by internal cash flow.
Cheong added, “The company is expected to generate annual operating cash flow of more than 200 trillion won over the next two years.”
Still, Wong expects the listing will help strengthen SK Hynix’s ability to raise funds for expansion, potentially paving the way for further U.S. initiatives such as share buybacks, greater investor engagement and broader expansion into the U.S. market.
Will SK Hynix be able to stay ahead?
The listing comes as investors assess whether SK Hynix can maintain its lead in the fast-growing HBM market that supports AI accelerators.
Philip Uhl, lead portfolio manager at Rayliant, said exploding demand for HBM far exceeded the market’s ability to supply it, making SK Hynix “something of a victim of its own success.”
This creates an opportunity for Samsung Electronics and Micron to accelerate investments in competing products while securing their own supply deals with hyperscalers looking to diversify their AI chip supply chains.
Futurum Group’s Bulk expects SK Hynix to remain the top HBM supplier, but its market share will likely fall from about 57% last year to about 50% this year, and then fall to the low 40% range over time as Samsung emerges and Micron consolidates its position as the third largest player.
The bigger challenge is not market share, but production capacity. “The real debate is not about share, but who can bring the capacity online to meet it,” Bulk said, adding that even the announced fab expansions remain insufficient to meet expected demand through the end of the century.
