Samsung drops from number 1 in South Korea.

TPO - SK Hynix has surpassed Samsung Electronics for the first time to become the most valuable listed company in South Korea. This achievement marks a spectacular transformation for the chip manufacturer, which was on the verge of bankruptcy more than 20 years ago, and reflects the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on the global semiconductor industry.

In trading on June 22, SK Hynix shares rose 5.7%, pushing the company's market capitalization to over 2.082 trillion won (approximately $1.35 trillion), surpassing Samsung Electronics' over 2.081 trillion won (excluding preferred stock). This marks the first time since 2000 that Samsung has lost its position as South Korea's most valuable listed company.

SK Hynix's breakthrough stems from the booming demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips – an indispensable component in modern AI systems. The company is now a leading HBM supplier to many major technology corporations such as Nvidia and Google, thus becoming one of the businesses that have benefited most from the global wave of AI investment.

SK Hynix has surpassed Samsung Electronics for the first time to become South Korea's most valuable listed company by market capitalization. Photo: Reuters

Thanks to its leading position in this field, SK Hynix's stock price has increased by more than 340% this year, pushing its market capitalization past both Samsung Electronics and Micron.

According to analysts, AI is profoundly changing the structure of the semiconductor industry. While memory chips were previously primarily considered a commodity, HBM chips have now become a core component of AI infrastructure, used to power advanced artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT.

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Kim Sunwoo, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities, believes that the emergence of specially designed AI memory chips has completely transformed the industry's business model, enabling SK Hynix to rise to a leading market position.

Unlike Samsung Electronics, a diversified conglomerate operating in fields ranging from logic chips and consumer electronics to home appliances, SK Hynix focuses almost entirely on memory chips. This specialization strategy allows the company to fully capitalize on the growth wave of AI.

SK Hynix's current success is even more remarkable when looking back at its past. In 2002, when it was still called Hynix Semiconductor, the company faced the risk of being sold to Micron after falling into a financial crisis due to its rapid investment expansion. The deal ultimately fell through, and Hynix remained under the control of its creditors for nearly a decade.

By 2003, the company's stock had plummeted to just 135 won, earning it the status of a "penny stock" among investors in South Korea.

SK Hynix's business operations were subsequently affected by the ups and downs of the memory chip market. In 2023, a sharp drop in chip prices resulted in the company recording an operating loss of 7.73 trillion won.

However, as tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Meta ramped up investment in AI infrastructure, the surge in demand for HBM chips helped SK Hynix recover quickly. In 2024, the company recorded a record operating profit of 23.5 trillion won, paving the way for a significant increase in market capitalization this year.

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SK Hynix surpassing Samsung is not only a symbolic milestone for the South Korean technology industry, but also demonstrates how AI is reshaping the balance of power in the semiconductor industry.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/samsung-bat-khoi-vi-tri-so-1-han-quoc-post1853374.tpo