Samsung explores U.S. share sale after SK Hynix debut

SK Hynix saw its U.S.-listed shares drop nearly 8% on Monday, falling to around $154.70, after surging more than 12% during a blockbuster Nasdaq ↗ 2.03% debut on Friday that raised $26.5 billion — the largest first-time share sale by a foreign company in the United States.cnbc+2

The selloff proved far more severe in Seoul, where SK Hynix plunged more than 15% on Monday — its biggest single-day decline on record — triggering a circuit breaker on South Korea's Kospi index, which closed down nearly 9%. The rout erased billions from the chipmaker's market capitalization as investors cashed out of a rally that had lifted the stock more than 250% in 2026 alone.stocksdownunder+4

A Landmark Listing Meets Reality

SK Hynix priced its American depositary receipts at $149 on July 9, backed by demand that was seven times oversubscribed, according to Reuters. The ADRs opened at $170 on July 10 and closed their first session at $168.01. The offering eclipsed Alibaba's ↘ 2.40% $25 billion IPO in 2014 as the largest-ever ADR listing, with Bank of America ↘ 0.88%, Citigroup ↗ 0.84%, Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ↗ 0.52%, and JPMorgan ↘ 0.48% serving as underwriters.reuters+4

Proceeds will fund new chip factories and advanced packaging facilities as the company capitalizes on insatiable demand for high-bandwidth memory used in Nvidia ↗ 0.49% AI processors.reuters+1

Korea's AI Rally Under Pressure

The Seoul selloff reflected broader concerns that South Korea's AI-fueled stock boom had become overstretched. Samsung Electronics fell more than 10% on Monday, contributing to the Kospi's steep decline. Foreign investors have been net sellers of Korean equities for much of 2026, withdrawing a record $137 billion from Asian markets in the first half of the year, according to Reuters data cited by the Chosun Ilbo.youtube+2

Samsung Eyes Its Own U.S. Listing

In a development reported early Tuesday by Bloomberg, Samsung Electronics is in the early stages of exploring a potential ADR offering of its own. The discussions are preliminary, but the move would mark another milestone for South Korean companies seeking access to deeper U.S. capital markets and higher valuations.bloomberg+1

The symbol SKHY began regular-way trading on Monday after trading on a when-issued basis as SKHYV on Friday. Settlement for all when-issued trades is set for Tuesday, July 14.nasdaqtrader