The most powerful signal a chief executive can send isn’t a press release or an earnings call. It’s a personal check. When SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won bought SK Hynix shares for the first time in his career on Thursday, he triggered something far bigger than a symbolic gesture: a 29.95 percent surge that slammed the Korean exchange’s daily limit and reset the narrative around one of the world’s most volatile semiconductor stocks.
The stock closed Friday at 1,718,000 won, a dramatic reversal from the previous session’s losses. The move was so forceful that automatic buy-side trading halts were triggered at both the Kospi and Kosdaq shortly after the opening bell.
A Two-Pronged Catalyst
The chairman’s purchase — 3,620 common shares valued at roughly 4.79 billion won at Thursday’s closing price — landed at a moment when the stock was under intense pressure. But it wasn’t the only fuel in the tank. Overnight, the iShares Semiconductor ETF had climbed more than 8 percent after Amazon and Microsoft delivered quarterly results that reignited enthusiasm for artificial intelligence spending. Amazon jumped over 9 percent in after-hours trading on strong cloud numbers, while Microsoft had already advanced 16 percent during Thursday’s regular session as faster Azure growth convinced investors that AI infrastructure outlays remain robust. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 8.19 percent, with double-digit gains across Micron, SanDisk, AMD, and Intel.
SK Hynix’s US-listed depositary receipts had surged 17.52 percent overnight, setting the stage for the Seoul fireworks. Samsung Electronics rode the wave too, climbing 25.6 percent to 260,000 won.
The Numbers That Nearly Sank It
Friday’s explosion followed a week that tested investors’ patience. On Wednesday, SK Hynix reported blockbuster second-quarter results: revenue climbed 257 percent to 79.32 trillion won, operating profit soared 557 percent to 60.54 trillion won, and net income reached 93.92 trillion won, boosted by non-operating investment gains. The operating margin of 76 percent marked an all-time high for the memory chip maker.
Yet the stock initially fell. The figures, however extraordinary, missed analysts’ elevated expectations. Investors also bristled at the aggressive capital expenditure plans unveiled alongside the results, worried that heavy spending would squeeze margins just as the market had grown hypersensitive to any disappointment.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SK Hynix?
A $500 Billion Vote of Confidence
Underpinning the recovery is a strategic partnership that dwarfs most corporate alliances. On July 24, at the AI Summit in San Francisco, SK Hynix and Nvidia cemented a multi-year deal valued at $500 billion. The agreement covers co-development of next-generation AI memory chips and construction of a massive AI infrastructure complex, including a 2-gigawatt AI factory slated to come online in 2027.
The company has also moved to stabilize its revenue stream, signing long-term supply contracts with roughly ten major global customers. These agreements secure sales for the next five years. Meanwhile, SK Hynix is shifting production capacity toward DDR5 memory, where severe supply shortages have pushed margins as high as 90 percent — a segment the company is now aggressively expanding.
Context for the Rally
The second quarter also marked the start of mass shipments of HBM4, the sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory, with production volumes set to ramp in the second half of the year.
Still, Friday’s surge leaves the stock roughly 42 percent below its 52-week high of 2,987,000 won, reached on June 25. The distance underscores how deep the preceding correction had cut. Year-to-date, however, the shares remain up 164.43 percent — a figure that captures just how extreme this trading year has been.
Whether Friday marks a genuine turning point or merely another violent swing in an already turbulent cycle will depend heavily on whether US tech giants sustain their investment appetite in the weeks ahead. For now, the chairman’s personal bet has given the market something it couldn’t get from even the most impressive earnings report: skin in the game.
Ad
SK Hynix Stock: Buy or Sell?! New SK Hynix Analysis from July 31 delivers the answer:
The latest SK Hynix figures speak for themselves: Urgent action needed for SK Hynix investors. Is it worth buying or should you sell? Find out what to do now in the current free analysis from July 31.
SK Hynix: Buy or sell? Read more here...
