SK Hynix (SKHY) Stock Drops After Denying Intel Ohio Plant Acquisition

TLDR

• SK Hynix ADRs fell 6.6% in premarket trading after the company denied reports it was acquiring Intel’s Ohio semiconductor plant
• Korea’s JoongAng Daily had reported SK Hynix was targeting front-end memory production at the Ohio site within five years
• SK Hynix filed with the Korean stock exchange confirming it “has not pursued or decided to acquire Intel’s Ohio site”
• The stock had surged as much as 9% intraday in Seoul before the denial triggered a sharp reversal
• Investors are now watching Alphabet’s Q2 earnings for AI spending guidance, seen as a key signal for memory chip demand

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SK Hynix stock whipsawed on Wednesday after the South Korean chipmaker denied it was in talks to buy an Intel fabrication campus in Ohio, reversing a sharp early rally.

SK hynix Inc., SKHY

SK Hynix ADRs dropped 6.6% in premarket US trading. The Seoul-listed stock closed down 0.3% after surging as much as 9% intraday — hitting 2,006,000 won, its highest level in nearly two weeks — before pulling back to close at 1,830,000 won.

The swing started with a report from Korea’s JoongAng Daily claiming SK Hynix was targeting Intel’s under-construction Ohio site for front-end memory production within five years.

That would have marked a major expansion of its US manufacturing footprint at a time when domestic chip supply chains are under intense geopolitical scrutiny.

But SK Hynix moved quickly to shut it down. In a Korean stock exchange filing, the company said it “has not pursued or decided to acquire Intel’s Ohio site,” while adding it was “reviewing various investment and acquisition opportunities.”

That was enough to unwind most of the early gains and leave SK Hynix as a clear underperformer on a day the broader KOSPI posted a strong 5.6% gain.

A Wild Ride Since the US Listing

The volatility fits a pattern that has defined SK Hynix since it listed ADRs on the New York exchange earlier in July. Since that listing, the stock has only managed a 2% gain for American investors despite wild swings along the way.

Over the past month, the stock has fallen 37%, even as it has gained more than 140% over the prior six months. That kind of range has made it a difficult hold.

Tuesday’s 13.8% jump in the ADRs came as part of a broader chip sector rally, making Wednesday’s reversal feel even sharper by comparison.

Alphabet Earnings Now in Focus

With the Intel story off the table, attention quickly shifted to Alphabet, which was due to report second-quarter earnings after the US market close Wednesday.

Google’s AI capital expenditure guidance is closely watched by memory chip investors. Strong AI spending tends to support demand for high-bandwidth memory, a product where SK Hynix is a leading supplier.

That outlook is not a given. SK Hynix itself has flagged concerns that memory chip prices may be at unsustainably high levels, a worry that has hung over the sector.

US markets were also under pressure on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 down 0.3% and the Nasdaq falling 0.8%, adding to the cautious tone heading into the Alphabet print.

Peer chipmakers including Samsung Electronics had been recovering alongside the broader Asian market rebound in recent sessions, though SK Hynix’s reversal stood out against that backdrop.