SK Hynix’s Wild Ride: A $644 Million Divorce, Geopolitical Shockwaves, and a 500 Billion Dollar Promise
Published on 07/25/2026 at 06:42 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The past week has delivered a dizzying mix of extremes for SK Hynix, as the South Korean memory chip giant navigates everything from a record-breaking divorce settlement for its chairman to a sweeping market rout triggered by Middle East tensions, all while a potential $500 billion partnership with Nvidia looms on the horizon. Investors are bracing for what promises to be a pivotal earnings release on July 29.
A Day of Twin Shocks
Friday was arguably the most punishing session of the year for SK Hynix shares in Seoul. The stock plunged 8.34 percent to close at 1,759,000 won, wiping roughly 114 trillion won from the company’s market capitalization. The sell-off was fueled by a double blow: a court ruling against SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and a broad-based panic that swept across the entire Korean equity market.
The Seoul High Court ordered Chey to pay his former wife, Roh Soh-yeong, 944 billion won (approximately $644 million) in cash as part of their divorce settlement. While this sum is sharply lower than the original 1.38 trillion won awarded in 2024 — and the court excluded any contribution from illegal funds in its calculation — the ruling still represents one of the largest divorce payouts in Korean history. Crucially for shareholders, Chey’s 17.9 percent stake in SK Inc., the holding company that controls SK Hynix, remains untouched. However, a significant portion of his shares are already pledged as collateral for an existing loan. Both parties retain the right to appeal.
Compounding the corporate drama, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) collapsed 5.72 percent to 6,690.62 points, breaching the psychologically important 7,000 level. Trading was temporarily halted for five minutes via the sidecar mechanism — the fifth such intervention in consecutive sessions. The trigger was a sharp escalation in geopolitical risk after US President Donald Trump threatened Iran with a “massive attack.” Oil prices reacted instantly, with Brent crude surging above $100 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate hovering near $92. Foreign and institutional investors dumped a combined 5.2 trillion won in Korean equities, while retail investors stepped in to buy 5.18 trillion won. Samsung Electronics, another heavyweight, fell 7.59 percent. Both chipmakers were further pressured by a bearish Morgan Stanley note on the semiconductor sector.
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The carnage extended to US markets, where SK Hynix’s American depositary receipts (ADRs) slid 6 percent to $158.56, dragging down Micron, SanDisk, and Western Digital in sympathy.
The Nvidia Factor and a 500 Billion Dollar Vision
Amid the turmoil, a separate narrative has been unfolding that points to an extraordinarily bright future. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, during a meeting with South Korean business leaders in San Francisco on Friday, floated the prospect of a business partnership with the SK Group worth $500 billion. The figure — more than double Nvidia’s own annual revenue of $215.9 billion for fiscal 2026 — has not been officially confirmed by either company, but reports from Yonhap News Agency, Seoul Economic Daily, and Aju Press have fueled intense speculation.
Huang also discussed chip design collaborations with both SK Hynix and Samsung. The meeting coincided with a Silicon Valley visit by South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who has been actively promoting the country’s semiconductor interests. Government adviser Kim Yong-beom confirmed that Samsung and SK Hynix are on the verge of signing multibillion-dollar supply contracts for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips with US technology giants, including Nvidia, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Broadcom. The two Korean firms collectively control roughly 80 percent of the global HBM market.
This isn’t the first time the executives have met informally. Back in early June, Huang, Chey, and SK Hynix President Kwak No-jung dined together in Seoul’s Gangnam district to discuss HBM4 supply. The next-generation memory chips are critical for AI workloads, and demand is already rippling through the supply chain. Semiconductor test equipment maker DI is expected to report a record operating profit of 33.1 billion won for the second quarter, a nearly 170 percent year-over-year surge, driven by HBM4 tester orders worth 196 billion won.
A Stock Torn Between Rally and Correction
The share price has been on a rollercoaster. On Friday, SK Hynix closed at 1,919,000 won in Seoul, a daily gain of 4.86 percent, bringing its year-to-date advance to an eye-popping 195.37 percent. That rally reflects the dramatic re-rating of the memory chip business amid the AI boom. Yet the stock still trades below its 50-day moving average, signaling a consolidation phase after the recent surge.
The US-listed ADRs have been even more volatile. They jumped 14 percent to $172.80 on July 21 before giving back 6.6 percent the next day, after reports emerged about a potential shift from HBM to regular DRAM production. Starting next week, two leveraged Tradr ETFs — offering 2x daily long and short exposure — will begin trading on the stock, likely amplifying the swings.
Technological Ambition and Massive Capacity Expansion
SK Hynix is not resting on its laurels. The company has begun developing 3D-stacked DRAM for on-device AI, a technology that stacks memory directly onto logic chips to reduce latency and power consumption. Its US subsidiary in San Jose is actively recruiting design engineers, and commercial partnerships with select customers are already in place.
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On the manufacturing front, the company is committing 100 trillion won to NAND production and advanced packaging in Cheongju. This is part of a broader, jointly pursued investment plan with Samsung totaling roughly 1,000 trillion won for new fabrication facilities, including in the Honam region. President Lee has framed these as part of the “Three Mega Projects,” which are expected to create up to 250,000 jobs.
A Warning on the US Premium
Not everyone is convinced the ADRs are fairly valued. Owen Lamont of asset manager Acadian warned that SK Hynix’s US-listed shares have at times traded at a premium of up to 50 percent over the Seoul-listed stock — far above the historical norm of 2 to 4 percent for comparable conversions. He drew parallels to the dot-com bubble and the Infosys listing of that era. Korean retail investors have poured roughly $500 million into the US securities through July 17. Starting July 29 — the same day as the earnings release — the conversion of domestic shares into ADRs will begin, which market observers believe could narrow the premium.
All Eyes on July 29
With the earnings report due next Tuesday, investors will be scrutinizing shipment volumes and pricing signals for HBM4, while waiting for official confirmation of the massive US supply contracts. The company’s most recent quarterly results showed revenue surging 198 percent to $35.5 billion and profits climbing roughly 400 percent to about $27 billion, with an operating margin of 72 percent and a 58 percent market share in HBM chips. HSBC reaffirmed SK Hynix as its top pick in the chip sector on July 17, and rival Micron’s strong forecast — a 346 percent revenue jump to $41.46 billion with a $50 billion outlook — has only raised expectations.
For now, SK Hynix remains a study in contrasts: a company at the center of the AI revolution, grappling with geopolitical shocks, a historic divorce ruling, and the challenge of keeping its two listings in sync. The next chapter begins Monday.
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