SK Hynix launches $29B U.S. listing; Samsung Q2 operating profit surges 19x YoY
<cite index="64-2">SK Hynix Inc.'s $29 billion US stock-market listing may help the company compete in the global stock market for memory chips used in AI computing.</cite> The South Korean memory giant officially kicked off its Nasdaq ADR (American Depositary Receipt) trading, set to begin July 10, 2026, opening U.S. investors' direct access to the chipmaker without currency conversion friction. <cite index="68-4">SK Hynix is also set to begin trading American depositary receipts on the Nasdaq on July 10, expanding access for U.S.</cite> investors. This comes months after Samsung and SK Hynix announced massive domestic investment plans (SK Hynix 100 trillion won ~$64B; Samsung 140 trillion won ~$90B) to shore up their AI and memory leadership.
<cite index="67-3">On July 7, Samsung Electronics released its earnings guidance for the second quarter of 2026. The company expects quarterly revenue to reach 171 trillion Korean won, visibly lower than the prior market consensus estimate of 172.181 trillion Korean won. In contrast to the missing revenue, the company's operating profit reached approximately 89.4 trillion Korean won. Compared with the same period last year, Samsung's operating profit surged about 19-fold, setting a new record high for the company's quarterly operating profit.</cite> The 19x surge in operating profit signals memory and HBM (high-bandwidth memory) prices have recovered sharply from mid-2024 lows.
For architects, both moves are bullish on memory supply and capacity. SK Hynix's Nasdaq debut lowers the cost of capital and makes the company a household name in Silicon Valley; Samsung's profit surge (despite slight revenue miss) confirms that AI data center demand is more durable than feared after early-July selloffs. Memory is now a bottleneck commodity priced in bulk, not per-unit; the companies with scale and capital win. Watch Samsung's July 23 earnings call for HBM4 shipment guidance and Q3 demand visibility.