SK Hynix Joins $1 Trillion Market Valuation Club on AI Chip Boom

SK Hynix reached $1 trillion in market value on May 27, 2026, closing at 1,680 trillion won ($1.12 trillion) after shares rose 9.3%. SK Hynix shares are up 215% in 2026, driven by strong demand for high-end memory chips used in AI chipsets like those designed by NVIDIA. The company joins Samsung, which surpassed $1 trillion on May 6, 2026, and Micron, which crossed the threshold on May 26, 2026, making South Korea the first country outside the U.S. with multiple trillion-dollar companies.

SK Hynix $1 trillion milestone

• ▪South Korea became the first country other than the U.S. to have more than one company reach $1 trillion market value.
• ▪SK Hynix shares rose as much as 14.9% during the May 27, 2026 trading session.
• ▪Micron Technology surpassed $1 trillion in market value on May 26, 2026.
• ▪Samsung Electronics surpassed $1 trillion in market value for the first time on May 6, 2026.
• ▪SK Hynix reached a market value of 1,680 trillion won ($1.12 trillion) on May 27, 2026.
• ▪There are only three Asian companies that have joined the $1 trillion market value club, including TSMC.
• ▪SK Hynix shares are up 215% in 2026 as of May 27, 2026.
• ▪SK Hynix shares closed at 2.243 million won on May 27, 2026.

KOSPI index performance

• ▪Samsung shares have risen 149% in 2026 as of May 27, 2026.
• ▪Samsung shares closed 2.7% higher at a record close of 307,000 won on May 27, 2026.
• ▪The KOSPI index has risen 95% in 2026 as of May 27, 2026.
• ▪Samsung shares rose as much as 8% on May 27, 2026.
• ▪South Korea's KOSPI index gained 2.3% on May 27, 2026, closing at 8,229.70.
• ▪Micron shares are up 245% in 2026 as of May 27, 2026.
• ▪South Korea's KOSPI index rose as much as 5.1% on May 27, 2026 to an all-time high of 8,457.09.

Leveraged ETF debut

• ▪Financial investment firms were net buyers of KOSPI shares worth 1.3 trillion won on May 27, 2026, boosted by huge retail buying of leveraged ETFs.
• ▪Retail investors bought 403 billion won of KOSPI shares on May 27, 2026.
• ▪The first South Korean single-stock leveraged ETFs linked to Samsung and SK Hynix surged on their market debut on May 27, 2026, posting double-digit gains.

Memory chip price surge

• ▪Memory chip prices are forecast to increase by up to 63% in the second quarter of 2026.

Analyst target price increases

• ▪Kim Young-gun, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities in Seoul, raised the target price for SK Hynix by 18.8% to 3.8 million won per share.

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