SK Hynix Walks the Tightrope: Feeding Nvidia's Appetite While Keeping Investors Onside
03.06.2026 - 19:50:56 | boerse-global.de
When Jensen Huang grabbed a marker and scrawled "Please Make More" across an HBM4E wafer at the Computex show floor, the message was unmistakable: Nvidia needs all the high-bandwidth memory it can get. The Nvidia chief’s personal appeal to SK Hynix came as the South Korean chipmaker’s market capitalisation crossed the $1 trillion mark for the first time, touching around $1.06 trillion on 2 June. Yet barely 24 hours later, foreign investors pulled the rug from under the stock, net selling roughly 60 trillion won ($43 billion) across 18 consecutive trading sessions—with 83% of that exodus targeting SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.
The juxtaposition captures the delicate balance the memory giant must strike. On one side sits a voracious customer demanding more supply; on the other, a shareholder base cashing in gains after a year that saw the stock more than double.
A Five-Year Pledge Without a Price Tag
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won used his Computex keynote to announce that the company plans to double its wafer production capacity within five years. He declined to put a dollar figure on the build-out, but confirmed that 2026 capital expenditure would significantly exceed the 30.2 trillion won spent in 2025. The gradual ramp-up signals that new capacity will come online in phases—not overnight—and Chey cautioned against aggressive price increases, arguing that the AI industry needs sustainable growth, not short-term margin maximisation.
The timing of the announcement is no coincidence. SK Hynix posted a record first quarter for 2026: operating profit of 37.61 trillion won (roughly $25 billion), up 405% year-on-year, on revenue of 52.58 trillion won—the first time quarterly sales have surpassed the 50 trillion won threshold. The operating margin hit 72%, fuelled by soaring demand for High Bandwidth Memory, which now accounts for about 30% of total DRAM shipments and is expected to make up 41% of DRAM revenue this year.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SK Hynix?
Dominance Under Siege
According to Counterpoint Research, SK Hynix commanded 58% of the global HBM market in the first quarter, with Samsung and Micron each holding 21%. That edge is largely thanks to its role as Nvidia’s primary HBM3E supplier. Chey expressed hope that SK Hynix would remain the lead supplier for Nvidia’s upcoming Vera Rubin system, which is slated for full production in the second half of 2026.
But the competitive picture is shifting. At the same Computex event, Samsung displayed a model of its future HBM5 chip and began shipping HBM4E samples the previous week. The development race for the next memory generation—HBM5—is already under way, and whoever takes the lead there is likely to define market leadership through 2028.
Execution Over Enthusiasm
Chey himself warned that structural memory shortages could persist until 2030, reinforcing the investment rationale behind the capacity ramp. But a multi-year expansion raises practical questions: Are tooling and construction capacity available? Will customer demand hold beyond the current cycle? And can margins be protected as spending climbs?
SK Hynix at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
Analysts view the recent foreign selling as tactical profit-taking after a sharp rally rather than a fundamental exit from semiconductor stocks. At the Frankfurt exchange, SK Hynix depositary receipts edged up 0.72% on Wednesday to €1,385.00, suggesting local buyers are stepping in where overseas investors are pulling back.
The company has also filed for American Depositary Receipts listing in New York this year, widening its access to international capital. For now, SK Hynix is betting that its record profits provide enough financial firepower to keep Nvidia’s wafer plea answered—without letting investor patience wear thin.
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