SEOUL, South Korea — SK Hynix Inc., a global leader in memory semiconductors, marked its 42nd anniversary on October 10, 2025, with a historic milestone: its market capitalization officially exceeded 300 trillion Korean Won (KRW) for the first time. The company's stock soared, opening at ₩426,000 and climbing to a high of ₩439,000, ultimately pushing its market cap to approximately ₩317 trillion.
This massive valuation leap confirms SK Hynix’s emergence as a pillar of the global AI industry and follows its June achievement of surpassing the ₩200 trillion market cap mark. The firm's success has also propelled the entire SK Group to a total market capitalization exceeding ₩400 trillion on the same day.
Record Earnings and HBM Leadership
The celebratory milestone follows the company’s extraordinary performance in the second quarter of 2025 (Q2 2025), where it posted its highest-ever quarterly results. SK Hynix reported:
Revenue: ₩22.232 trillion
Operating Profit: ₩9.2129 trillion (41% Operating Margin)
Net Profit: ₩6.9962 trillion (31% Net Margin)
The record-breaking profit was overwhelmingly fueled by the explosive demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips, which are essential components for high-performance AI systems. Specifically, the expanded mass sales of the HBM3E 12-stack (5th-generation HBM) were highlighted as the primary growth engine.
SK Hynix has long held a commanding lead in this critical market, having pioneered the world’s first HBM in 2013. While global competitors scaled back HBM investments, SK Hynix doubled down, securing its current dominant position with a significant global market share, and reportedly monopolizing the supply of HBM3E 12-layer chips to industry giant NVIDIA. The company continues to lead innovation, currently rolling out its next-generation HBM products.
Exceeding Expectations
The company’s rapid growth has far outpaced its own ambitious targets. Less than two years ago, in late 2023 ahead of CES 2024, CEO Kwak Noh-jung publicly announced a goal to achieve a ₩200 trillion market cap and a ₩280,000 stock price within three years. The firm has surpassed both figures well ahead of schedule, demonstrating the market's confidence in its technological advantage in the burgeoning AI sector.
SK Hynix, which began as Hyundai Electronics in 1982 and was later acquired by the SK Group in 2012, has successfully transformed from a troubled company into the leading affiliate of the SK Group and a global technology powerhouse. With its competitive portfolio, including high-capacity DDR5 modules and Enterprise Solid State Drives (eSSD), the company is poised to continue its leadership in the global AI memory market.
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