Key points
- SK Hynix reports July 29 and could top Micron's record as the HBM market leader.
- It holds about 56% to 62% of HBM versus Micron's roughly 21%, and supplies about 70% of Nvidia's HBM4.
- Its US listing (ticker SKHY) raises about $29 billion, expected around July 10.
Micron just delivered one of the best quarters the memory industry has ever seen. That sets up an obvious question for the next big print: can the company that is actually bigger in the chips powering AI do even better? SK Hynix, the king of HBM memory, reports earnings on July 29, and on the metrics that matter it is set up to potentially top Micron's blowout. It is also making its US market debut around July 10, but more on that in a second. Here's the case, and the catch.
First, the listing, briefly
Quick housekeeping, since the headlines are dominated by it: this is a US listing, not an IPO. SK Hynix already trades in Korea; it is selling American depositary shares on Nasdaq under the ticker SKHY, tentatively starting around July 10, to raise roughly $29 billion (about 45.45 trillion won) for HBM expansion. The date and size are still tentative. We broke the listing down in full, including why the order book matters more than the size of the share sale, in our SK Hynix listing piece. Here, we are focused on the event that may move the stock more: the earnings.
The bar Micron just set
On June 24, Micron blew past expectations across the board, posting a record $41.5 billion in revenue, the stock jumped about 13%, and management guided the next quarter to roughly $50 billion in revenue at an 86% gross margin. It was, in the CEO's own word, exceptional. We covered it in Micron's best quarter ever. That is the standard SK Hynix now has to clear when it reports on July 29.
Why SK Hynix could top it
Here's why the bigger memory player could put up even louder numbers:
- It owns HBM. SK Hynix holds roughly 56% to 62% of the high-bandwidth memory market (about 56% in the latest quarter), versus roughly 21% for Micron. HBM is the single hottest, highest-margin product in memory, and SK Hynix has the most of it.
- It has the biggest Nvidia allocation. UBS estimates SK Hynix will supply around 70% of the HBM4 for Nvidia's next-generation Rubin platform. If Nvidia is the engine of the AI boom, SK Hynix is selling it the most fuel.
- Its margins are already higher. Last quarter SK Hynix posted a record 52.6 trillion won in revenue with an operating margin of 72%, a level high enough to top even Nvidia's.
- It is sold out. Like Micron, SK Hynix has its HBM output spoken for, with demand for the next three years already exceeding what it can supply, but it is filling more of the market while it does.
Put simply: Micron proved the AI-memory demand is real and the margins are spectacular. SK Hynix has more exposure to that exact trade than anyone, so if Micron's quarter was a blowout, the HBM leader's could be even bigger.
The other side of the trade
This is the part the hype skips, so let's be honest about it:
- The bar is now sky-high. Micron set an enormous standard, and expectations for SK Hynix are already huge. "Great" might not be enough to move the stock if everyone is expecting "incredible."
- A lot is priced in. SK Hynix shares have had a monster run and jumped about 12% the day after Micron's blowout. As we wrote in our AI bubble piece, when a stock is priced for perfection, even a strong report can sell off.
- Sell-the-news is real. Micron itself has a history of dipping right after great earnings. Don't assume a blowout automatically means the stock pops.
- The listing dilutes. Raising billions in brand-new shares adds supply, and the market will weigh that against the growth.
Bottom line
The setup is rare: SK Hynix makes its US debut around July 10, then reports earnings on July 29 as the HBM market leader with the fattest margins and the largest Nvidia allocation. That is a company built to potentially top the blockbuster Micron just delivered. The catch is that everyone already knows it, so the bar and the valuation are both high. Watch the July 29 print, and watch what they say about HBM4. That is the tell.
This is analysis and opinion for information only, not investment advice, and I'm not a financial advisor. Figures come from SEC filings, company reports, and analyst estimates as of mid-2026 and vary by source, so confirm the latest numbers before making any decisions.