SEOUL, April 27, 2026, 19:37 KST
Shares of SK hynix jumped 5.73% to 1,292,000 won on Monday, lifting Seoul’s KOSPI to another all-time high as investors chased chipmakers tied to AI. “There’s anticipation around companies linked to AI data centers,” Daishin Securities analyst Lee Kyoung-min said, highlighting semiconductor and power-equipment players in the broader AI value chain. Yonhap News
SK hynix stands out as the most obvious non-U.S. pick for “best stock to buy today” in a news-focused screen—though far from a safe bet. Shares earlier jumped over 7%, hitting all-time highs after Intel’s numbers fueled fresh enthusiasm for AI-driven demand. Samsung Electronics, the local competitor, added 2.5% as it contends with a looming strike threat from unionized workers in May. Reuters
Timing is in focus. Oil jumped nearly 3% with U.S.-Iran peace talks stuck, raising fresh concerns about Middle East energy supply. Even so, equity traders leaned into AI stocks—Tokyo and Seoul hovered near record highs. “AI is very much considered a winner,” said Mike Seidenberg, senior portfolio manager at Allianz Technology Trust. Reuters
SK hynix has emerged as a key player here, thanks to its high-bandwidth memory, or HBM — the stacked chips crucial for moving data at speed in AI processors. For the first quarter, the company reported revenue of 52.5763 trillion won, operating profit at 37.6103 trillion won, and net profit sitting at 40.3459 trillion won; operating margin landed at 72%.
Supply is where things get tightest. Ki Tae Kim, who leads HBM sales and marketing at SK hynix, told Reuters that client demand for HBM over the next three years “already far exceeds” what the company can produce. On top of that, Reuters noted contract prices for some DRAM chips—essential for computers and servers—soared nearly 83% in the first quarter. Certain NAND storage products surged about 160%. Reuters
Investors tracking rivals can see the setup pretty clearly. Samsung’s tapped into the AI chip wave, though labor issues linger; TSMC, trading in Taiwan, just put up a record Q1 profit and now counts eight consecutive quarters of double-digit gains. Shares of SK hynix have surged, nearly doubling since January—right at the forefront of Asia’s AI stock surge.
The risk side hasn’t faded. South Korean retail investors kept selling as stocks climbed, dumping a net 14.8 trillion won on the main exchange this month through Friday—Samsung Electronics and SK hynix made up around 62% of that. Kim Dong-won at KB Securities flagged a possible nightmare scenario for Samsung: a strike that drags on could take “two to three weeks” to get things back to normal. Semis are still cyclical; sentiment flips quickly if memory prices soften or data-center demand ebbs. The Korea Times
SK hynix stands out with a focused, potent argument. No longer flying under the radar, it isn’t a defensive play either. Right now, though, among international names trading outside the U.S., its shares bring together a rare blend: clear momentum, solid earnings, and genuine supply tightness—hard to match elsewhere.
