SK Hynix Blasts Past $400 Billion Valuation as Microsoft Chip Deal Ignites Stock Surge

Another semiconductor giant just joined the half-trillion-dollar club—and Wall Street analysts are scrambling to update their price targets.

The Deal That Lit the Fuse

Forget incremental growth. SK Hynix didn't just climb; it rocketed past the $400 billion market cap threshold. The catalyst? A freshly inked supply agreement with Microsoft, sending its stock into a vertical rally that left traditional valuation models in the dust. The market's message was clear: strategic partnerships in the AI hardware race are worth their weight in silicon.

More Than Just Memory

This isn't about selling commodity DRAM. The deal signals a deeper pivot. It locks SK Hynix into Microsoft's next-gen infrastructure blueprint, positioning the chipmaker as a critical enabler for cloud AI and enterprise computing. That's the kind of forward-looking contract that makes a $400 billion valuation look like a starting point, not a ceiling.

The Ripple Effect

Watch the entire semiconductor sector adjust its posture. When a key player makes a leap of this magnitude, it recalibrates expectations for everyone. It tells a story of demand so robust that even the most bullish forecasts might be playing catch-up. The old rules of cyclicality? They're getting a hardware upgrade.

A New Benchmark

So, what's next? The milestone sets a new precedent. It proves that in the age of AI, foundational hardware companies can command software-like premiums. For investors who thought the chip rally had peaked, this move is a stark reminder: the engines of the digital economy are just hitting their stride. And sometimes, the best way to play the AI revolution isn't with the flashy software—it's with the picks and shovels. Just ask the analysts now frantically revising their spreadsheets.

Each of Microsoft’s new Maia 200 accelerators uses six units of SK Hynix’s HBM3E memory. The newspaper cited chip industry and brokerage sources. An SK Hynix spokesperson said the company can’t confirm or talk about customer information.

Microsoft unveiled the Maia 200 AI chip on Monday. Reports say it performs 30% better than competing chips. TSMC is making them.

SK Hynix shares have gone up ten times in about three years. That started when the company landed an early supply deal with Nvidia Corp. Investors got excited about anything related to AI, and SK Hynix was right in the middle of it.

Things are also looking better for regular memory chips

Prices for older types of memory have started going up again. That should help when SK Hynix reports earnings on Thursday.

Jung In Yun runs Fibonacci Asset Management Global. He said Tuesday’s gain came from “dip buying and rising HBM earnings expectations.” He added, “We will probably see SK Hynix earnings meeting expectations again.”

Citigroup Inc. raised its price target for SK Hynix by 56% to 1,400,000 won on Monday. That’s the highest target out there. The bank kept its buy rating and put the stock on a 30-day watch list for potential gains.

Analyst Peter Lee from Citigroup wrote about changes in the memory market. “The memory market is shifting toward semi-customization, with memory customers required to sign a contract a year prior to actual product delivery,” he said in a Monday note. “In 2026, we foresee global DRAM/NAND pricing growth to be significantly better than expected.”

Microsoft designed the Maia 200 to rely less on outside chip suppliers for AI work. The company makes its own accelerators but works with suppliers like SK Hynix for the memory parts. This setup is supposed to work better for Microsoft’s cloud and AI services.

High-bandwidth memory, like the HBM3E that SK Hynix makes, has become really important for AI. These chips MOVE huge amounts of data way faster than regular memory. That matters a lot when you’re training big AI models or running them.

SK Hynix put a lot of money into developing this advanced memory technology early on, before the AI boom took off. Now that’s paying off. The company is ahead of most competitors in this area.

Prices for traditional memory chips are recovering too. That’s good news on top of the AI-related business.

SK Hynix plans $6.92 billion U.S. AI investment unit

The South Korean chipmaker is also considering establishing a dedicated artificial intelligence investment subsidiary, with reports suggesting the unit will be based in the United States.

It said in a regulatory filing that various measures were under consideration, including setting up the new subsidiary for AI investment.

The Maeil Business newspaper reported the U.S. subsidiary will manage approximately 10 trillion won ($6.92 billion) worth of AI-related assets held overseas by affiliates of SK Group. These assets include stakes in various AI ventures, including investments in U.S. nuclear energy firm TerraPower.

Investors will be watching Thursday when SK Hynix reports its earnings. The question is whether the company can deliver results that match all the Optimism that’s been driving the stock higher.

Between Microsoft’s new chip orders, better pricing for standard memory, and ongoing AI demand, SK Hynix looks set to keep doing well. But Thursday’s numbers will show if all that confidence is justified.

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