SK Hynix Stock Is Joining Nvidia and Amazon on Nasdaq This Summer

TLDR

• SK Hynix has chosen Nasdaq over NYSE for its planned U.S. listing, expected as early as August
• The company’s stock has surged 230% this year on the Korea Exchange, pushing its market cap above $1 trillion
• The SEC is expected to approve SK Hynix’s ADR listing during the week of June 22
• The offering could raise as much as $14 billion, according to sources
• Analysts say Nasdaq’s higher tech valuations and passive fund flows drove the decision

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SK Hynix (HXSCL) has chosen Nasdaq for its U.S. market debut, according to Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter. The company passed on the NYSE, owned by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).

The listing could come as early as August. The SEC is expected to approve SK Hynix’s American depositary receipt listing during the week of June 22.

SK Hynix stock has surged 230% so far this year on the Korea Exchange, lifting its market cap above $1 trillion in May. A U.S. listing is expected to widen its investor base and raise its global profile.

The planned offering could raise as much as $14 billion, a source told Reuters. SK Hynix first disclosed in March that it had confidentially filed for a U.S. listing.

SK Hynix declined to comment on the report. Nasdaq was not immediately available for comment.

Why Nasdaq?

Analysts pointed to Nasdaq’s reputation for higher valuations of tech and growth companies as a key factor. SK Hynix may have also looked at how peer Micron (MU) is valued on the exchange.

Micron has gained around 248% this year, while the Nasdaq Composite is up about 11%.

“Passive investment funds now account for a larger share of global investment flows than active funds, with a significant portion of those passive flows concentrated in Nasdaq-listed stocks,” said Kim Sunwoo, senior analyst at Meritz Securities.

Passive funds track indexes rather than picking individual stocks, and many tech-focused ETFs are heavily weighted toward Nasdaq names. That makes it an attractive destination for a company like SK Hynix.

By listing on Nasdaq, SK Hynix joins a marketplace that includes Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Micron.

AI Demand in Focus

SK Hynix is the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker and a key supplier to Nvidia. It holds a dominant position in high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI servers, making it a direct play on AI infrastructure spending.

Reuters reported that SK Hynix received “tremendously positive” feedback on its U.S. listing plan, driven by strong AI demand and its competitive standing in the memory market.

The Nasdaq listing is also seen as aligning SK Hynix with the AI-linked names that dominate the exchange. SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket and AI company, was also set to begin trading on Nasdaq on Friday.

SK Hynix has not publicly disclosed the size of the planned listing or the number of depositary receipts to be offered.