KB Securities raised its price target on SK Hynix to 3 million Korean won, implying a market capitalization of around $1 trillion. This would make the memory chipmaker only the second South Korean company to reach that milestone.
The brokerage maintained its Buy rating and lifted operating profit estimates for the second quarter and full year.
SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) had a market cap of 1.276 trillion won ($852 billion) as of May 16. It is set to follow memory chip rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) in hitting the $1 trillion valuation.
The upgrade was driven by sharply higher price forecasts for DRAM and NAND chips. KB Securities projected average selling prices for the two product types to rise 194% and 244% respectively in 2026, fueled by surging demand from AI data centers.
AI operators now account for 70% of total memory shipments. SK Hynix and Samsung have benefited greatly from the memory demand upswing over the past year.
Kim noted that token usage at four major tech companies rose three times in six months and seven times year-on-year, as agentic AI applications consume more memory resources.
The broker said SK Hynix is entering a de facto zero-supply era, with no new memory production lines expected before 2027. Long-term supply contracts running through 2028-2030 resemble a foundry model, reducing earnings volatility and supporting a re-rating.
For 2026, KB Securities ranks SK Hynix first globally by operating margin at 78.1%, ahead of Nvidia and Saudi Aramco.
Capital spending by the four largest tech companies is forecast to rise 77% to $725 billion in 2026 and surpass $1 trillion in 2027. Kim said AI investment has become a survival requirement, suggesting memory demand has no foreseeable ceiling.
