SK Hynix crashes 15% as Korea AI rally hits brakes

SK Hynix's 15% crash reflects a broader reassessment of AI-driven valuations in South Korea's equity market. The company's role as a critical supplier of high-bandwidth memory for NVIDIA's AI processors has made it central to the region's AI boom — the article notes SK Hynix shares are more than 500% higher over the past year as memory shortages and rising prices supported record earnings. However, the Monday selloff suggests investors are now questioning the durability of those gains, particularly as the company's exposure to high-bandwidth memory (where pricing pressure is more intense than in conventional memory) raises the risk of margin compression.

The timing reveals two conflicting signals. SK Hynix's $26.5 billion（約4.2兆円） U.S. offering, which attracted orders seven times over and generated a 13% pop in its American depositary receipts on debut, demonstrates persistent global appetite for the company. Yet the same week, the Korean-listed shares collapsed on concerns that operating profit may miss expectations — a disconnect that analysts attribute to profit-taking rather than fundamental deterioration. SK Hynix's CEO stated that memory-chip shortages would probably continue beyond 2030, a bullish signal on long-term demand. Nevertheless, investors are concerned that expanding production capacity could eventually pressure profitability if demand weakens, a risk underscored by the Korea Investment & Securities estimate of an 8% miss on operating profit. Looking ahead, analysts expect elevated volatility through late July as foreign investors rebalance positions and rotate into the U.S.-listed receipts, with some arguing the selloff may have created a buying opportunity after a year-long run-up.

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