SK Hynix officially debuted on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in the form of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on July 10, 2026, with a strong first-day performance, rising 12.76% throughout the day. However, it plummeted 14.5% in its domestic market today. This is not simply a case of "hot US stocks, cold Korean stocks." In short, the ADR debut raised market enthusiasm for SK Hynix's narrative, but also simultaneously raised the bar for earnings verification. Unless there is more solid data confirming the HBM4's sales volume, profit-taking could easily pull the AI storage premium back from the narrative to actual delivery.
The ADR's approximately 13% surge on its first day reflects the scarcity of global funds gaining exposure to a leading AI storage company; the 14.5% drop in the Seoul market reflects profit-taking pressure after the previous gains and uncertainty about whether HBM4 can maintain its optimistic sales pace in the second quarter. This demonstrates the market's willingness to buy into the AI storage narrative; the stock price's next question is whether orders, shipments, and profit elasticity can keep pace.
