SK Hynix's Historic Valuation Narrows Samsung Divide as Next-Gen HBM4E Chips Enter Customer Hands
20.06.2026 - 05:32:25 | boerse-global.de
The distance between South Korea's two semiconductor titans has never been this small. SK Hynix's market capitalization briefly breached the 2,000 trillion won threshold on Friday, cutting the gap with Samsung Electronics to just 99.67 trillion won — the first time it has slipped below the 100 trillion won mark. The stock closed at 2,764,000 won, up nearly 3% on the day, after touching an intraday high of 2,891,000 won, a fresh 52-week peak.
The rally's primary catalyst came on June 17, when SK Hynix confirmed it had shipped samples of its 12-layer HBM4E memory chips to key customers. The seventh-generation modules deliver 16 Gbps per pin, over 20% better energy efficiency than the prior generation, 48 GB capacity per stack, and 17% improved thermal resistance versus HBM4. They are designed for high-performance AI processors, including Nvidia's Rubin Ultra and AMD's MI500 series. SK Hynix holds a 58% share of the global HBM market, but the competitive landscape is intensifying. Samsung Electronics had already dispatched its own 12-layer HBM4E samples on May 29, becoming the first company to do so, with a matching 16 Gbps data rate and bandwidth of up to 3.6 TB/s.
The market dynamics extend beyond product cycles. Intel poached former SK Hynix chief Seok-Hee Lee as executive vice president for its foundry business, where he will oversee advanced packaging and system integration. Meanwhile, the broader memory market is expected to swell to 1,500 trillion won by end-2026, a fourfold expansion, with server and AI demand overtaking combined PC and smartphone consumption for the first time — server memory alone is projected to account for 56% of the total.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SK Hynix?
Despite the euphoria, technical indicators flash caution. The 14-day RSI sits at 73.5, squarely in overbought territory. The stock trades roughly 59% above its 50-day moving average, and annualized 30-day volatility stands at nearly 96%. With a weekly gain of almost 29%, a consolidation phase looks technically plausible. The next resistance level is the 52-week high of 2,891,000 won, which was briefly touched but not sustained on Friday.
Fundamentally, the bull case hinges on execution. KB Securities projects SK Hynix will report second-quarter operating profit of around 69 trillion won, a 649% jump from the prior year. But the stock's 308% year-to-date surge already prices in immense optimism. Investors will now watch for customer qualification results and production volume disclosures to validate whether the valuation can hold. After a historic week, the real test begins.
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