South Korea’s SK Hynix Raises $26.5 Billion in Record-Breaking US IPO

South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix has raised a record-breaking $26.5 billion in its initial public offering on the New York-based Nasdaq stock exchange, marking the largest US listing ever by a foreign company. This milestone surpasses the previous record set by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in 2014, which raised $25 billion.

SK Hynix sold 177.9 million American depositary shares (ADS) at $149 each. ADS are US dollar-denominated shares that allow foreign companies to list and trade on US markets. The issued ADS are equivalent to 18 million ordinary shares in SK Hynix.

This IPO ranks as the second-largest globally, following SpaceX’s $85.7 billion Nasdaq listing carried out in June 2026. The strong interest in SK Hynix’s offering comes amid rising demand for semiconductors used in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, the IPO was more than seven times oversubscribed. Dilin Wu, a research strategist at Pepperstone in Melbourne, Australia, commented that the market response had exceeded even the most optimistic expectations.

The completion of SK Hynix’s IPO and debut on Nasdaq took place on July 10, 2026. This listing highlights the growing importance of the semiconductor industry in the global economy and underscores the continuing investor appetite for technology-related stocks.

The circumstances surrounding the IPO and its record-breaking scale indicate a significant moment for foreign firms seeking capital in US markets. However, it remains to be seen how SK Hynix’s stock performance will evolve in the coming weeks amid changing market conditions.