Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.
SK hynix narrows market cap gap with top-ranked Samsung Electronics
A visitor photographs SK hynix's HBM4 display at a semiconductor exhibition at Coex in southern Seoul, Oct. 22. Yonhap
By Lee Yeon-woo
The market capitalization gap between Samsung Electronics and SK hynix has narrowed to a record low, analysts said Friday, as investors reward SK hynix for its early dominance in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, which are vital to AI computing.
Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix closed Friday at 97,900 won ($67.2) and 582,000 won, respectively, down 1.3 percent and 2.2 percent from the previous session.
Both stocks have entered a correction phase amid renewed concerns about an AI bubble. Nevertheless, the semiconductor industry remains in a clear expansion cycle, with demand rising across the spectrum — from legacy chips to advanced HBM.
Among the two, SK hynix has outperformed sharply. Over the past three months, Samsung Electronics' shares have gained 39 percent, while SK hynix has soared 122 percent.
As of Friday, SK hynix’s market capitalization stood at 422.2 trillion won, roughly 73 percent of Samsung Electronics’ 580.7 trillion won — marking the narrowest gap on record. Samsung has maintained the No. 1 spot by market cap on Korea’s stock exchange since November 2000.
The shrinking gap underscores shifting dynamics in the chip sector, particularly in advanced memory, where SK hynix has gained a clear edge. The company was an early supplier of HBM3E chips to NVIDIA, which dominates the current AI infrastructure build-out.
That lead is expected to extend. SK hynix is reportedly set to supply both HBM3E and next-generation HBM4 chips to Nvidia next year for the U.S. firm’s upcoming GPU, Rubin. The company has also sold out its DRAM and NAND supply for 2026 to major clients.
"Its unmatched technological capabilities and profitability are expected to continue not just in the short term, but through 2027 and beyond," said Chae Min-sook, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities.
Samsung Electronics, meanwhile, is moving quickly to close the gap. The company is regaining competitiveness in advanced memory and remains unlikely to easily surrender its market lead.
During its third-quarter earnings, Samsung Electronics said it had begun supplying HBM3E to all customers, including Nvidia, and that it had already shipped HBM4 samples — signaling a full-fledged entry into the competition by 2026.
Recent profit-taking by foreign investors has also weighed on SK hynix's stock momentum. Between Oct. 27 and Thursday, foreign investors offloaded a net 6.1 trillion won worth of SK hynix shares — the largest net sell-off among all listed stocks during that period.
In contrast, they were the top net buyers of Samsung Electronics, purchasing 900.7 billion won worth of common shares and an additional 392.3 billion won in preferred stock.
"There is a growing sense of optimism about (Samsung's) significant expansion in market share within the HBM segment," said Yim So-jung, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities. "If foundry utilization improves and follow-up contracts from major clients materialize, the company could see another re-rating."