SK hynix Accelerates U.S. Listing... Evolving from K-Memory to Global AI Company

Confidential Registration Statement Submitted to SEC
Pursuing ADR Listing by Year-End
Securing Funds for AI Semiconductor Investment Through New Share Issuance

SK hynix has officially launched the process for a listing on the U.S. stock market. Approximately four months after first disclosing its consideration of a listing in December last year, the company has taken a concrete step by submitting a registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Through this move, SK hynix aims to secure large-scale investment resources to respond to the booming artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor market and elevate its corporate value to the next level.

Yonhap News Agency

Implementation Phase After Four Months, 'New Share Issuance' Likely

On March 25, SK hynix announced in a regulatory filing that it had confidentially submitted a registration statement (Form F-1) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 24 (local time) for the listing of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). SK hynix stated, "We are pursuing a listing with the goal of completing it within 2026, and the final decision on whether to proceed with the listing will be made after comprehensively considering market conditions and demand forecasts." However, the company noted that details such as the scale, method, and schedule of the public offering have not yet been finalized.

The company’s push for a U.S. listing came to light in December last year after a related disclosure was made. At that time, the company stated, "We are considering various measures to enhance corporate value, including a potential U.S. stock market listing utilizing treasury shares, but nothing has been decided." Subsequently, on March 16 (local time), SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won directly confirmed the review of an ADR listing during the 'GTC 2026' NVIDIA annual developer conference held in San Jose, California. Chairman Chey said, "We are considering an ADR listing," adding, "This would allow us to be exposed not only to Korean shareholders but also to U.S. and global investors, making us a more global company."

The most likely method of listing is through the issuance of new shares. While SK hynix initially actively considered listing ADRs by utilizing treasury shares, the company faced significant criticism from the market for allegedly seeking to avoid the obligation to retire those shares. In response, on February 9, the company retired treasury shares worth 12.24 trillion won, representing 2.1% of its total shares. Since virtually all available treasury shares have now been exhausted, the industry expects that the U.S. listing will proceed via a new share issuance. The anticipated scale of the new share issuance is reported to be about 2.4% of the total shares.

Record-Breaking Performance, Need to Expand AI Investments

SK hynix’s planned U.S. listing is interpreted as an effort to maintain its investment competitiveness in the rapidly growing AI semiconductor market. The funds raised are expected to be used to expand cutting-edge memory production capacity, such as high bandwidth memory (HBM), and to reinforce its leadership in the global AI semiconductor market. On this day, SK hynix CEO Kwak Nohjung stated at the annual shareholder meeting held at the company’s headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, "We have succeeded in developing HBM4 technology and established a proactive mass production base, and we continue to lead the industry in next-generation HBM technology. In the NAND field, we have once again broken technological barriers by developing a 321-layer QLC product, the highest layer count in the world, and are actively collaborating with global customers and partners to develop next-generation storage solutions optimized for the AI era."

The market sees this planned U.S. stock market listing as an opportunity for SK hynix to redefine its status from a memory semiconductor company listed solely on the Korean stock market to a global AI infrastructure provider. Listing on the U.S. stock market is expected to enable SK hynix to broaden its connections with global institutional investors and major technology partners while diversifying its investor base. In particular, as a core supplier of HBM to NVIDIA, the company will gain a direct opportunity to showcase its position in the AI semiconductor value chain to the global capital markets.

CEO Kwak commented, "Based on our world-class technological capabilities across all memory segments and strong customer trust, we achieved record-breaking results last year with 97.1467 trillion won in revenue and 47.2063 trillion won in operating profit. As market confidence in the company’s growth potential increased, our share price surpassed 1 million won and our market capitalization exceeded 700 trillion won."

The company stated that it would make a further disclosure regarding the U.S. listing either when concrete details are confirmed or within six months at the latest.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.