SK Hynix Surges 250% in 2026 as AI Memory Boom Fuels Further Upside

CNBC reported Wednesday that South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix has climbed more than 250% in 2026 as surging demand for AI memory hardware pushed its market capitalisation past $1 trillion. Analysts interviewed by the outlet say the AI memory rally is far from over.

Valuations Still Look Cheap Despite the Run-Up

Despite the dramatic price gains, several strategists argue SK Hynix shares remain attractively priced. Peter Kim, global investment strategist at KB Securities, told CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia that earnings forecasts have actually risen faster than the stock price. That dynamic has made valuations cheaper in relative terms even as the share price soared.

Kim noted that Micron Technology trades around 12 times forward earnings. SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, by contrast, trade at roughly six to seven times, based on analyst estimates. He told CNBC the rally is probably only halfway through given those fundamentals.

Also Read: Nvidia’s Blackwell Chip Surge Signals New Phase of AI Hardware Spending

The AI Memory Super-Cycle Explained

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives described the current AI expansion as sitting in just the third inning of a nine-inning game. He wrote in a recent note that demand for high-bandwidth memory, DRAM and NAND has hit levels with no historical precedent.

HBM chips power AI accelerators and large server clusters. DRAM and NAND handle memory and storage across a much broader range of devices. Ives argued the market significantly underestimates how long this cycle will last and how large it will grow. He projected Big Tech capital expenditure at roughly $725 billion as cloud giants race to build out AI infrastructure.

Also Read: Big Tech Capex Plans Signal Another Year of Massive AI Infrastructure Build-Out

A Background of Rapid Concentration in Korean Equities

SK Hynix and Samsung together now account for more than 40% of South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index. That concentration has made some investors nervous about single-point risks, including supply chain disruptions or a slowdown in global data centre investment.

Kim acknowledged the market had become highly polarised, with a small cluster of AI-linked names driving most index performance.

New Caution Enters the Picture

Not every fund manager is chasing the rally without reservation. Philip Wool, lead portfolio manager at Rayliant Global Advisors, told CNBC that AI hardware enthusiasm has now spread from developed markets into emerging markets more broadly. He still holds SK Hynix, Samsung and TSMC but warned those stocks now face a higher bar for continued outperformance. Investors are beginning to price in extraordinary AI spending as a baseline rather than a surprise.

Kim’s own view is that overcapacity, the factor that historically ends semiconductor up-cycles, is still at least two years away from materialising. That timeline, he argued, is what keeps the AI memory rally intact for now.

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