SK Hynix completes the largest first-time US share sale ever made by a foreign company, raising $26.5 billion on the Nasdaq on 10 July. Within one trading day, the South Korean chipmaker's shares in Seoul record their worst session on record. The two events, days apart, show how a landmark listing can change the way a stock behaves.
A record-breaking listing
The memory chipmaker sells 177.9 million American depositary receipts, or ADRs, at $149 each. Ten ADRs represent one Seoul-listed common share. The raise passes the $25 billion that Alibaba collected in its 2014 US market entry, setting a new record for a foreign company.
Demand is intense. Orders reportedly cover the offer more than seven times before pricing, and around $5 billion of ADRs go to three cornerstone investors, including Baillie Gifford and Coatue Management. On Friday the ADRs open at $170, a 14 percent gain, before closing at $168.01. Chairman Chey Tae-won calls the moment "a dream come true".
Where the money goes
The proceeds fund an aggressive expansion plan. SK Hynix intends to build the first phase of a wafer fabrication plant at the Yongin semiconductor cluster in South Korea, expand an advanced packaging site in Cheongju, and buy equipment including extreme ultraviolet lithography machines.
The company leads the global market for high bandwidth memory, the chips that feed data to AI processors made by Nvidia and others. Demand for these chips has pushed its Seoul-listed shares up roughly 630 percent over the past year and lifted its market value above $1 trillion in May. The company says customers keep asking for more capacity, even after it commits to doubling output within five years.
The Monday reversal
The mood shifts sharply when Seoul reopens. On Monday 13 July, SK Hynix shares fall more than 15 percent, their worst single day on record, and drag the Kospi index down almost 9 percent. The slide continues on Tuesday, with the stock losing over 8 percent more.
Analysts do not see a change in the company's outlook. Jung In Yun, chief executive of Fibonacci Asset Management, says the fall reflects profit-taking, arbitrage between the ADRs and the Seoul shares, and wider caution towards South Korean equities. Investors who rode the stock's long climb use the successful US debut as a chance to lock in gains.
What comes next
Attention now turns to results. SK Hynix reports second-quarter earnings on 29 July, less than three weeks after the listing. Strong numbers would support the view that the sell-off is positioning rather than doubt about demand for AI memory. The company also faces a practical test: proving that a dual home on the Nasdaq and in Seoul brings a broader investor base and a steadier valuation, not simply a new source of volatility.
