China’s CXMT briefly tops $590B, becoming most valuable A-share stock

ChangXin Memory Technologies, China's largest DRAM manufacturer, briefly surpassed a market capitalization of 4 trillion yuan (approximately $592 billion) on Friday, cementing its position as the most valuable company on China's A-share market just days after its blockbuster debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market.firstpost+2

The milestone caps an extraordinary run for CXMT since its July 27 listing, when shares surged 466% from their offering price of 8.66 yuan to close at 49 yuan on their first day of trading. The Hefei-based chipmaker raised 57.92 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) in what was Asia's largest IPO of 2026, nearly double its initial fundraising target.cnbc+2

A Rapid Rise in the Memory Market

CXMT's ascent reflects the company's rapid gains in the global DRAM market. According to Counterpoint Research, the company's share of global DRAM revenue climbed from 3% to 8% in a single year, making it the world's fourth-largest DRAM maker behind Samsung Electronics at 38%, SK Hynix ↘ 3.12% at 29%, and Micron ↘ 2.22% at 22%.koreatimes+1

The listing sent shockwaves through the memory sector. Samsung Electronics shares fell about 13% the day after the debut, while SK Hynix tumbled roughly 14%. In the United States, SanDisk sank 12%, Micron dropped 5%, and the Roundhill Memory ETF fell 4%.reuters+2

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won responded by purchasing 4.9 billion won ($3.41 million) in SK hynix shares on Thursday, signaling confidence that the selloff had been excessive.koreatimes

Technology Gap Limits Near-Term Threat

Despite its market heft, analysts say CXMT's competitive threat remains concentrated in commodity memory segments. Industry officials estimate the technology gap between CXMT and Korean memory makers at roughly three to four years. While Samsung and SK hynix are already sampling HBM4E, CXMT is reportedly still working to stabilize production of 8-high HBM3, with yields below industry standards.koreatimes

SK hynix led the high-bandwidth memory market with a 58% revenue share in the first quarter, followed by Samsung and Micron at 21% each. CXMT did not appear in HBM rankings.koreatimes

CXMT plans to add 100,000 wafers of monthly production capacity in Shanghai in 2027 and another 100,000 in 2028, which would bring total monthly capacity to about 550,000 wafers by the end of 2028.koreatimes

Tech-Leak Cases Add Political Dimension

The company's rise has drawn particular scrutiny in South Korea, where courts have sentenced former Samsung Electronics employees to prison for leaking DRAM technology to CXMT. Prosecutors estimated the damage from leaked technology at about 5 trillion won as of 2024, with broader economic harm potentially reaching tens of trillions of won.bloomingbit

During Apple's ↘ 0.80% third-quarter earnings call on Thursday, CEO Tim Cook acknowledged the shifting landscape: "If there were more suppliers, that would be good, and it would help us on the supply side, and perhaps the pricing side".koreatimes