SK Hynix posts $26B profit in Q1 2026, plans NASDAQ listing that could raise $29.4B

SK Hynix just posted a quarter so absurd it makes its own recent history look like a rounding error. The South Korean memory chip maker reported Q1 2026 net profit of 40.3459 trillion won, a figure that surpasses the company’s entire revenue for fiscal year 2023, which clocked in at 32.766 trillion won.

The numbers behind the surge

Revenue for Q1 2026 came in at 52.5763 trillion won, roughly $35.5 billion. That represents 198% growth year-over-year, driven almost entirely by insatiable demand for high-bandwidth memory and other AI-optimized chips.

The operating profit hit 37.6103 trillion won, producing a record operating margin of 72%. For context, that margin was 58% just last quarter and 42% a year ago.

These results announced on April 22-23 mark a complete reversal from the company’s 2023 struggles, when the memory chip market was mired in oversupply and weak consumer electronics demand.

The NASDAQ play

SK Hynix filed an amended Form F-1 on June 30, 2026, for a NASDAQ American Depository Receipt listing under the ticker SKHY. The target: approximately $29.4 billion raised through the issuance of 17.79 million new shares. If that number holds, it would rank as one of the largest debut fundraisers in stock market history. Trading is expected to begin around July 10, 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

The company has earmarked significant capital expenditure increases for 2026, including production ramp-ups at the M15X facility and expansion of its Yongin cluster. The proceeds from the ADR listing are expected to fuel these efforts.

Why this matters for the broader market

The company’s dominance in HBM, where it supplies critical components for NVIDIA’s AI accelerators and similar products, positions it at a chokepoint in the AI supply chain. Customer demand is currently outpacing supply capacity, which is exactly the kind of pricing environment that produces 72% operating margins.

For investors already allocated to AI-adjacent names, SK Hynix’s NASDAQ listing opens a more direct route to memory chip exposure without navigating Korean exchange logistics. The SKHY ticker would sit alongside competitors like Micron Technology, giving US-based portfolio managers an easy comparison point.

Samsung Electronics and Micron are both racing to close the gap in HBM production, but SK Hynix’s first-mover advantage and now its massive capital raise could widen the moat. A nearly $30 billion war chest dedicated to facility expansion is not something rivals can easily match.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.