SK Hynix stock at record high: how much further can the AI darling run?

SK Hynix stock surged to a record high on Monday, rising 12.52% to 18,71,000 won as renewed optimism around artificial intelligence spending lifted semiconductor stocks globally.

The sharp move made the South Korean chipmaker one of Asia’s standout market stories, extending an extraordinary rally that has already seen the stock more than double this year.

The latest jump came after major US technology companies signaled even bigger AI investment plans, reinforcing expectations that demand for advanced memory chips will remain exceptionally strong.

The key question for investors now is whether SK Hynix still has room to run, or whether much of the AI boom is already reflected in its share price.

AI’s memory king

The reason SK Hynix matters is that it sits at the heart of the AI build-out because it makes high-bandwidth memory, or HBM.

It is the specialized chip stack that helps AI processors move data fast enough to do useful work.

Nvidia’s accelerators and other AI hardware need this kind of memory, and SK Hynix is the company most investors now associate with the bottleneck.

SK Hynix's share of the global HBM market is in the high-50s to low-60s, which is a commanding lead in a market where supply is tight and demand is still climbing.

Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon have signaled that their combined AI spending this year will top US$700 billion (approx. $903.1 billion), up from roughly US$600 billion (approx. $774.1 billion) previously.

That matters because memory chips are a direct line item in data-center construction, and the bigger the AI budgets, the stronger the order book for suppliers like SK Hynix.

Sold out until further notice

What makes the bullish case look sturdier than a typical momentum story is the supply side.

Big tech customers have even floated offers to invest directly in SK Hynix’s production lines and fund expensive equipment purchases just to secure supply.

The company’s available production capacity is effectively sold out, meaning SK Hynix is not struggling to find buyers; customers are competing to secure its chips.

That gives SK Hynix unusual pricing power, and it helps explain why investors are willing to look past the usual memory-chip cycle.

SK Hynix stock: Is the best already priced in?

The bull case is convincing as the analysts put the average 12-month target at about 1.8 million won, while the high estimate is 2.7 million won.

Mirae Asset Securities has also raised its target to 2.7 million won, according to Korean market reports.

That implies room for further upside, especially if HBM4 begins ramping in the second half of 2026 and gives earnings another leg up.

SK Hynix has also been expanding capacity aggressively, including plans for a new advanced packaging plant in South Korea.

But the caution flags are real.

At this size, the stock is no longer being valued like a cyclical memory maker, but like a scarce AI infrastructure asset.

That can work for a long time, but it also leaves little room for disappointment if spending slows, Samsung closes the gap faster than expected, or HBM pricing cools.