SK Hynix raises $26.5B in record foreign IPO on Nasdaq

South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix completed its debut on the Nasdaq on Friday, July 10, 2026, raising $26.5 billion through an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) offering—the largest U.S. share sale by a foreign corporation. The company's stock closed 13% above its $149 offer price at $168, with demand reaching seven times the available shares. The listing marks a watershed moment for international capital markets, with Nasdaq executives signaling the success could prompt other foreign firms to pursue U.S. listings.

The funds will support SK Hynix's expansion of production capacity for vertically stacked memory components, particularly high-bandwidth memory (HBM) critical for artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company currently holds 56.4% of the global HBM market and supplies major customers including Nvidia and AMD. Market analysts attributed the oversubscribed offering to institutional capital shifting from AI software investments toward the physical semiconductor infrastructure underlying the technology boom.

SK Hynix's South Korea-listed shares showed mixed signals during the listing window, falling 0.27% on Friday but remaining up 634% over the past year and 174% over six months. Strategists noted the company is positioned to benefit from sustained demand for memory chips driven by global AI deployment, though cautioned that richly valued chip stocks face correction risk if operating results disappoint investor expectations.

The $26.5 billion raise surpasses Alibaba's 2014 U.S. IPO and is second globally only to SpaceX's capital raise earlier in 2026. SK Hynix traded on Nasdaq under ticker symbol SKHYV on its debut day before transitioning to SKHY for regular trading. The offering comprised 177.9 million ADRs, each representing one-tenth of a common share.