Nvidia’s Huang Touches Down in Seoul as SK Hynix Shares Suffer Their Worst Day in Months

The contrast could hardly be starker. On the very day Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia, flew into Seoul to cement ties with South Korea’s semiconductor titan, SK Hynix saw its stock plunge nearly 10%. The selloff erased about $14 billion in market value and pushed the company’s market capitalisation back below the $1 trillion milestone it had breached only at the end of May.

The trigger was not company-specific bad news but a sector-wide mood swing. Broadcom had posted solid quarterly revenues yet underwhelmed with its guidance on AI chip sales, igniting a “sell the news” wave that swept across the entire AI semiconductor landscape. SK Hynix, despite a year-to-date gain of roughly 206% since January, was caught in the downdraft. Technically, the shares closed at 2,070,000 KRW, still comfortably above their 100-day moving average, but 14% below the all-time high set in early June.

Vera Rubin Deal and Next-Gen HBM4E Samples

Amid the market turmoil, the company quietly locked in another major victory. SK Hynix will supply memory chips for Nvidia’s next-generation AI platform, Vera Rubin, reinforcing its dominance in high-bandwidth memory — the specialised silicon that is the backbone of modern AI data centres. To keep pace with insatiable demand, the chipmaker plans to send first samples of its new HBM4E chips to customers in the second half of this year, with commercial production scheduled for 2027.

The strategic importance of Huang’s visit was underscored by a personal touch. At the Computex trade show, he had scrawled “Please Make More” on an SK Hynix HBM4E wafer. Now, seated with SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, the discussions are focused on long-term supply contracts for high-bandwidth memory and collaboration on the next generation of AI infrastructure. On Monday evening, Huang is also due to attend a meeting of South Korean business leaders. Any concrete agreements on HBM4 deliveries could provide short-term support for the stock.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SK Hynix?

$14 Billion ADR Plans and Production Doubling

Looking beyond the immediate volatility, SK Hynix is laying the groundwork for a significant expansion of its investor base. The company is reportedly considering a US listing via American Depositary Receipts, aiming to raise up to $14 billion. The move would open the door to large American institutional funds that are restricted to US-listed securities, channelling fresh capital directly into the group’s capacity build-out.

That build-out is already aggressive. SK Hynix intends to nearly double its monthly DRAM output from roughly 550,000 wafers today to about one million by 2030. The centrepiece of this expansion is the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, where equipment installation at the first plant has been pulled forward to February 2027 — three months earlier than originally scheduled. Meanwhile, the M15X facility in Cheongju is set to come online in the second half of 2026, contributing an initial 40,000 wafers per month.

Macro Headwinds and Structural Tailwinds

The broader macroeconomic backdrop added to Friday’s pressure. A weakening South Korean won and a slide in US tech stocks weighed on sentiment, prompting profit-taking after a blistering rally. But the structural case for SK Hynix remains robust. The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics organisation has raised its 2026 growth forecast for the memory chip segment to a staggering 250%, projecting the total market to swell above $800 billion. As the leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory, SK Hynix is positioned to capture a disproportionate share of that expansion.

SK Hynix at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.

This week brings two more catalysts that could sway the stock. On Tuesday, the US releases its latest inflation data — a data point that regularly moves technology and semiconductor names. And Jensen Huang’s presence in Seoul, combined with the potential for fresh HBM supply agreements, means the narrative around SK Hynix may shift as quickly as it did on Friday. For now, the market is pricing in short-term noise, but the underlying investment thesis — driven by multi-year capacity doubling, a US listing, and deepening ties with the world’s most influential AI chipmaker — tells a far more enduring story.

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