SK Hynix’s CEO Bets Big on a Tighter Memory Market Even as the Stock Sheds 38%
Published on 07/22/2026 at 16:33 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
SK Hynix chief Kwak Noh-Jung is making a bold wager that runs counter to the current mood in the trading pits. While the company’s shares have been hammered by nearly two-fifths since late June, he is publicly forecasting that memory shortages will only intensify through 2027. The gamble rests on a sweeping transformation of the company’s business model — one that is already well underway.
The South Korean chipmaker is pivoting hard away from the volatile consumer market and toward the hyperscalers that power artificial intelligence. Analysts at KB Securities estimate that business-to-business sales to tech giants and AI data centers will account for roughly 70 percent of total revenue during the 2026-2027 memory cycle. That shift is already visible in the numbers: about 65 percent of SK Hynix’s revenue now comes from the United States, driven almost entirely by the breakneck expansion of AI infrastructure there.
Kwak’s conviction is backed by a concrete operational reality. The company reports that its production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips is sold out well into 2026, with Nvidia remaining the marquee customer. To finance the enormous capital spending required for this AI-driven era, SK Hynix listed on the Nasdaq earlier this month, raising $26.5 billion in the largest-ever U.S. IPO by a foreign company. That war chest is earmarked for the transition to the next-generation HBM4 technology, a shift that still presents technical hurdles.
On the technology front, SK Hynix recently unveiled a new memory architecture called IMTE, which it says can improve AI inference efficiency by 35.7 percent compared with conventional systems. The design places CXL hybrid memory between traditional high-performance memory (HBM/DDR) and SSDs. The company is also in talks about sample deliveries of its second-generation CMM-DDR5 product, based on the CXL 3.2 standard. Analysts view these moves as critical to defending the company’s estimated 57 percent share of the global HBM market, especially as traditional HBM and DDR capacities approach their limits.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SK Hynix?
The stock, however, tells a more complicated story. At 1,830,000 won, the shares are little changed from the previous session, but the monthly picture is stark. From a 52-week high of 2,987,000 won reached in late June, the stock has fallen nearly 38 percent. The correction reflects growing anxiety about potential delays in HBM4 deliveries and intensifying competition — both Samsung and Micron have recently achieved their own HBM4 validations. Even so, the stock remains up 181.67 percent year to date, and the long-term uptrend is still intact, even if sentiment has turned frosty.
The selloff has been accompanied by a flurry of speculation that SK Hynix might acquire Intel’s chip fabrication plant in Ohio. The company moved quickly to douse those rumors, filing a mandatory disclosure with the KOSPI exchange on July 21 and 22. In it, SK Hynix explicitly denied any plan to buy Intel’s Ohio facility or the associated land. Management acknowledged that it routinely evaluates investment and acquisition opportunities, but insisted no decision had been made on this particular deal. The rumors had some basis in history — SK Hynix bought Intel’s NAND and SSD business for $9 billion in 2022 — but the company is now signaling that its $26.5 billion Nasdaq haul will be deployed into its own AI expansion, not into someone else’s factory.
SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won has described the current market environment as “abnormal,” driven by a massive imbalance between supply and demand. Analysts at Meritz Securities estimate that DRAM manufacturers are currently able to meet only 75 to 80 percent of market demand, a figure that could fall to 60 percent by 2027. That supply crunch is the backdrop for the next major catalyst: SK Hynix reports second-quarter earnings on July 29 at 9 a.m. Korean time. The consensus calls for revenue growth of more than 260 percent year over year, fueled by the sold-out production of HBM and high-end DRAM chips through year-end.
SK Hynix at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
The focus will be on HBM4 yield rates and the progress of domestic expansion projects. Both will help determine whether SK Hynix can hold onto its dominant position in the HBM market — and whether Kwak’s contrarian bet on a tightening memory market will ultimately be vindicated.
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