SK Hynix becomes second South Korean firm to breach trillion-dollar valuation
The South Korean manufacturer joins an elite group of 17 companies worldwide, with its market capitalisation reaching 1.66 quadrillion won amid a broader rally in the KOSPI index.
South Korean semiconductor manufacturer SK Hynix has become the second company in the nation’s history to achieve a market capitalisation of at least US$1 trillion. The milestone was reached on Friday, with the company’s valuation standing at 1.66 quadrillion won, or approximately US$1.10 trillion. This achievement places SK Hynix among only four non-US-based companies to reach this valuation tier, alongside Samsung Electronics, Taiwan’s TSMC, and Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco.
The surge in valuation is driven by explosive global demand for semiconductors used in artificial intelligence. SK Hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, saw its share price skyrocket by 240 per cent since the start of 2026, with an additional increase of more than 80 per cent in the current month alone. The stock finished nearly 2 per cent higher on Friday, reflecting investor confidence in the company’s ability to capitalise on record-shattering revenues generated by the AI boom.
Financial performance underpinning the market rally has been substantial. SK Hynix reported a fivefold year-on-year increase in operating profit for the first quarter of 2026, exceeding 37.6 trillion won (US$24.9 billion). First-quarter revenue reached 52.6 trillion won (US$34.8 billion), representing a threefold increase compared to the same period last year. These figures highlight the impact of a global shortage of DRAM and NAND memory chips, which has benefited both SK Hynix and its US rival, Micron, both of which hit the trillion-dollar mark this month.
The broader South Korean stock market has mirrored this AI-driven rally, with the benchmark KOSPI index doubling in value during 2026. The milestone places SK Hynix in an exclusive global group of only 17 companies to reach a market valuation of US$1 trillion or more. All but five of these entities are based in the United States, underscoring the concentration of high-value technology and energy firms in the American market.
Historically, the trillion-dollar club has seen significant volatility and evolution. Chinese state-owned PetroChina became the world’s first trillion-dollar company upon its listing on the Shanghai stock exchange in 2007, though its reign was short-lived following the 2008 global crisis. Subsequent entrants included Apple in 2018, Amazon in 2019, and Microsoft and Alphabet in 2019 and 2020 respectively. SK Hynix’s entry marks a significant shift in the global economic landscape, highlighting the critical role of semiconductor manufacturing in the modern digital economy.
