South Korea’s SK Hynix enters the $1 trillion | Business and Economy

The chipmaker has become the second South Korean company in history to achieve this milestone.

South Korea’s SK Hynix has joined the private sector of companies with a market capitalization of at least $1 trillion, driven by explosive demand for semiconductors used in AI.

SK Hynix, the world’s second-largest chipmaker, hit a record high this week as investors rushed to cash in on losses from the AI ​​boom.

This comes after two of SK Hynix’s biggest rivals – Micron of the US and South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics – took action this month over global shortages of DRAM and NAND memory chips.

SK Hynix’s share price has risen 240 percent since the beginning of the year, and more than 80 percent this month alone.

The operation marks a major AI-driven rally in South Korea’s stock market, which has seen the KOSPI index double so far in 2026.

SK Hynix’s market capitalization stood at 1.66 quadrillion won ($1.10 trillion) on Friday, after its shares finished nearly 2 percent higher.

The South Korean chipmaker’s profit rose fivefold in the first three months of this year, to over 37.6 trillion won ($24.9bn).

Revenues reached 52.6 trillion won ($34.8bn), up three times over the year.

Only 17 companies have reached the $1 trillion valuation, all but five of which are located in the United States.

China’s state-owned PetroChina became the world’s first trillion-dollar company when it listed on the Shanghai stock market in 2007 – a reign that may have been short-lived after the 2008 global crisis wiped out three-quarters of its market value.

Apple took the lead in August 2018, followed by Amazon the following month, Microsoft in April 2019 and Alphabet in January 2020.

Of the 14 companies with revenues of at least $1 trillion, SK Hynix is ​​one of four that is not based in the US, along with Samsung Electronics, TSMC of Taiwan, and Saudi Aramco of Saudi Arabia.