SK Hynix Steadies After Record Weekly Slide as Earnings Test Looms
Published on 10/19/2026 at 22:11 | Editorial boerse-global.de
SK Hynix shares clawed back a modest 0.4% in Seoul on Monday to close at 1,277,000.00 KRW, halting — at least for a session — the steepest weekly rout the stock has suffered since the 2008 financial crisis. The bounce offers little comfort: the memory maker still trades 57% below its 52-week high, and the coming days bring both a regulatory hearing and a quarterly report that will test whether the AI-driven chip cycle has real earnings behind it.
Foreign Investors Head for the Exits
The selloff had a clear author. According to the Korea Exchange, overseas institutions dumped a net 5.35 trillion Won worth of SK Hynix stock last week, cutting the foreign ownership stake to 48.85% — the lowest level since December 2021. The benchmark shed 15% over just five trading days as investors locked in profits across the semiconductor sector following the earlier AI rally. Over a 30-day stretch, the decline adds up to 31%.
The retreat was fueled by more than profit-taking. Worries about persistent US inflation weighed on sentiment, as did a widening debate over whether the enormous capital being poured into artificial intelligence will ever generate adequate returns. Remarks from Broadcom chief Hock Tan on investment momentum added to the unease, and reports of technological advances at Chinese rival ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) stoked fears of tougher competition in mainstream DRAM and server memory. October brought a run of seven consecutive losing sessions for the Korean chipmaker, The Korea Times reported.
Seoul's Regulator Flags Solidigm Question
Washington's export rules and Seoul's listing rules are now pulling in different directions for SK Hynix. At a parliamentary hearing on Monday, Lee Chan-jin, governor of South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), voiced reservations about a potential US listing of Solidigm, the subsidiary created from SK Hynix's $9 billion acquisition of Intel's NAND and SSD business. The FSS is examining whether a separate IPO would run afoul of domestic rules on dual listings.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SK Hynix?
SK Hynix responded that no such plan has been decided and that any strategic option would be weighed with the long-term value of existing shareholders front of mind. On a separate front, the company moved to quash speculation about its Chinese NAND plant in Dalian, where Reuters had reported that it was seeking additional US export licenses for equipment. SK Hynix said Friday that it is not pursuing a capacity expansion for Module B at the site; the equipment installation is being carried out in coordination with US authorities and under existing licenses.
Two Bullish Calls, Two Different Targets
Analyst conviction has survived the drawdown intact — though not unanimously on price. Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month target on SK Hynix to 3.5 million Won, arguing that global memory markets face a structural supply shortfall expected to last through 2028. The shortfall should tighten further next year across DRAM, NAND and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the bank said, underpinned by the vast hardware demands of AI data centers. Beyond the current HBM lineup, the industry is eyeing next-generation standards such as NVHBM, which is slated to deliver up to 30% more bandwidth than HBM4E while consuming 15% less power.
Meritz Securities struck a similar tone the same day, keeping its "Buy" rating and a 3.2 million Won target. Whether those lofty profit expectations hold up will become clear shortly.
The October 28 Verdict
SK Hynix is due to publish third-quarter 2026 results on October 27 and 28, with the market braced for a sharp year-on-year jump in profit. The report will serve as the key gauge of whether underlying demand for advanced memory chips can withstand the recent doubts about the pace of the global AI buildout — and whether operating strength can anchor the next leg of the memory cycle. For all the recent carnage, the stock remains up 97% year to date.
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