Shares of SK Hynix tumbled 7.2% to €1,025 on July 27, extending a punishing slide that has erased nearly 10% of the stock's value as investors weigh the cost of the South Korean chipmaker's aggressive AI expansion against the risk of dilution from what would be one of the largest U.S. listings in years. SK Hynix Sinks Nearly 10% as the AI Memory King's $500 Billion NVIDIA Bet and Record Nasdaq Listing Leave Investors Asking: How Much Growth Is Already Priced In?

Shares shifted sharply lower as SK Hynix — the world's dominant maker of high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI systems — found itself caught between two powerful forces: a massive, newly expanded partnership with NVIDIA and mounting investor anxiety that the stock's blistering rally has overshot reality. The Frankfurt-listed shares dropped 7.2% to €1,025, extending a nearly 10% slide, just two weeks after the company completed what it called the largest-ever U.S. share sale by a foreign company.

The NVIDIA Deal Is Enormous — and So Is the Bill

SK Group and NVIDIA announced a $500-billion-plus comprehensive partnership to build AI infrastructure for surging global compute demand.

SK Hynix is entering a long-term AI memory supply deal with NVIDIA, allowing NVIDIA to lock in next-generation chips while SK Hynix expands its growth base. That's a revenue safety net — but it also locks the company into enormous spending. CEO Kwak Noh-jung disclosed plans to invest 100 trillion won (~$64 billion) in South Korea alone, including a new fabrication plant beginning construction next year.

The Nasdaq Listing Drew Record Demand — Then Record Profit-Taking

The listing raised $26.5 billion, with investor subscriptions exceeding seven times the available shares.

But days later, Seoul-listed shares plunged 15% — the stock's biggest single-day drop on record — as investors booked profits. New share issuance dilutes existing holders' stakes, and the sheer scale of the listing created a natural selling window.

Analysts Are Starting to Question the Price Tag

Goldman Sachs cut SK Hynix to Neutral from Buy, citing expected weakness in high-bandwidth memory pricing.

The analyst flagged that pricing power is shifting toward large customers, and Goldman's revised 2026 operating profit forecast now sits 19% below market consensus. That matters because the stock has more than tripled this year.

The Core Tension: Spending vs. Cyclicality

SK Hynix holds ~56% of the global high-bandwidth memory market , and Q1 2026 revenue hit $34.5 billion, up 198% year-over-year. But memory has historically been brutally cyclical — if AI spending cools or capacity floods the market, pricing can reverse fast. The company is betting hundreds of billions that the AI boom is structural, not cyclical. If it's right, today's selloff is a buying opportunity. If demand plateaus while new factories come online, investors face a painful overshoot.