SK Hynix overtook Samsung Electronics on Monday, June 22, 2026, to become the most valuable listed company in South Korea. SK Hynix’s high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips are in massive demand from AI chip manufactures, such as Nvidia and Alphabet (Google). The company is one of the most significant beneficiaries of the global AI boom. SK Hynix’s market capitalization hit $1.35 trillion today,
Can SK Hynix Survive The Competition From Samsung And Micron?
SK Hynix’s share price has surged by more than 340% in 2026 alone. The company’s primary competitors are Samsung Electronics and Micron, together forming the “big three” in the sector. However, SK Hynix dominates the AI memory chip sector, with about 61% of the HBM market. What’s interesting is that SK Hynix was on the verge of being sold to Micron in 2002 amid crippling debt. The company was then known as Hynix Semiconductor. Company shares were viewed as a penny stock in 2003.
According to Meritz Securities’ Kim Sunwoo, “The emergence of customized AI memory fundamentally changed the industry’s economics and allowed SK Hynix to establish itself as the market leader.“
SK Hynix’s dominance in the HBM sector may remain unchallenged for the time being. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won explained that “In the past, it did not matter whether memory came from Hynix, Samsung or Micron. They were interchangeable commodity products. HBM is different. If SK Hynix’s HBM is replaced with another product, the AI system may not function properly. What used to be a peripheral component has become a core component.“
Also Read: Will Micron Stock Drop? SK Hynix & Samsung Tighten Their Grip on HBM
While AI-based stocks have seen unprecedented price spikes in the last year, there are risks to the industry. While SK Hynix focuses primarily on memory chips, Samsung is also in the logic chips and consumer electronics market. Many believe we may be living in an AI stock bubble, similar to the dot com bubble of the late 1990s. If so, Samsung may be better prepared for a crash, given its diverse offerings.