SK hynix Inc.'s shares listed in the U.S. surged sharply on their first day of Nasdaq trading, closing a sizeable portion of the session with strong gains after the memory-chip maker completed a historic American offering. The stock rose 14.5% in mid-day trading to $170.63 and touched an intraday high of $174.90, as investors reacted to the company’s blockbuster U.S. debut.
The Nasdaq listing followed an offering that raised $26.5 billion, the largest amount ever secured by a foreign company in a U.S. listing. The sale comprised 177.9 million American depositary receipts, each ADR representing one-tenth of a share of SK hynix common stock, and the ADRs were priced at $149 apiece prior to the start of U.S. trading.
Market participants pointed to unusually strong institutional appetite heading into the debut. The ADR pricing implied roughly a 3.1% premium to the company’s Korean-listed shares, and the offering reported an oversubscription in excess of seven times. That combination indicated institutions were prepared to pay a modest premium for the convenience of trading SK hynix directly on a U.S. exchange.
Analysts at HSBC had forecast that the company’s ADRs could command a premium of about 20% versus its domestic shares in South Korea. Following the Nasdaq listing, SK hynix is expected to be added to the Nasdaq 100 Index, which could lead to ongoing inflows from passive investment vehicles and narrow the valuation gap with peers such as Micron.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and CEO Kwak Noh-Jung took part in the Nasdaq opening ceremony, with Chey describing the listing as “a kind of dream, and now it’s a dream come true.”
Beyond the size of the offering, investors cited the company’s market position as a key driver of buy-side enthusiasm. SK hynix controls approximately 58% of the high-bandwidth memory market, supplying technology that is integral to the operation of advanced AI processors. That role has become more visible as rapid investment in data centers has pushed demand for HBM faster than manufacturers have expanded qualified production capacity.
The Nasdaq debut also addresses a long-standing access constraint for U.S. investors. Prior to the ADR listing, direct exposure to the HBM supply chain via U.S. exchanges had been limited, and the new listing opens a highly liquid channel for American investors to buy into the company.
Market structure effects have already begun to appear. The size and profile of the U.S. listing have prompted ETF issuers to prepare new products tied to SK hynix, and several leveraged investment vehicles referencing the company are in development.
The stock’s jump came amid a broadly muted U.S. market. The S&P 500 rose roughly 0.1% while the Nasdaq was essentially flat, underscoring that the move in SK hynix was driven chiefly by company-specific developments rather than a general market rally.
Taken together, the record-setting IPO size, heavy oversubscription, leading HBM market share and the opening of a large U.S. investor base contributed to what is likely one of the most prominent first-day performances of 2026 for an individual stock listed in the United States.