Memory Giants Spark "U.S. Listing Wave": SK Hynix Finalizes Ticker to Rush Nasdaq, Kioxia Announces ADR Issuance Timeline

As the AI wave reshapes the global semiconductor landscape, Asian memory giants are accelerating their embrace of U.S. capital markets. According to a report by South Korean media outlet inews24, SK Hynix's U.S. listing process has entered its final sprint. Meanwhile, Kioxia has released a timeline for issuing American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) in the U.S. and plans to implement a stock split to lower the entry barrier for retail investors. The intensive moves by these two industry titans signal that the AI memory supercycle is driving a profound restructuring of global capital markets.

SK Hynix: Finalizes Ticker "SKHY" to List on Nasdaq Next Month

As one of the biggest beneficiaries of this AI computing boom, SK Hynix's plan to list in the U.S. is now firmly set. Reports indicate that SK Hynix has convened a board meeting and officially approved the plan to issue ADRs and list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. With the SEC approval process and pre-listing preparations entering their final stages, its U.S. stock ticker has been officially confirmed as "SKHY," with trading expected to officially commence on the 10th of next month.

This move aims to integrate with U.S. capital markets, attracting passive funds, ETFs, and long-term institutional capital that exclusively invest in U.S. equities, thereby further broadening its financing channels and enhancing its global profile.

Kioxia: Targets Q2 Next Year for U.S. ADR Issuance, Plans Stock Split to Help Retail Investors "Get on Board"

Similarly, Japanese memory giant Kioxia is accelerating its global capital expansion. Kioxia CFO Yoshihiko Kawamura stated at a regular shareholders' meeting that the company is advancing its ADR issuance plan, targeting the April-June period when the next fiscal year begins. He emphasized that this plan will allow Kioxia to directly access the U.S. market and raise funds locally, which is of great significance for stabilizing its stock price.

Notably, to address the high stock price threshold, Kioxia simultaneously plans to implement a stock split. Currently, Kioxia's stock price has climbed to approximately 100,000 yen (about $618). Based on Japan's standard trading lot of 100 shares, the minimum investment per transaction exceeds 10 million yen. The stock split will effectively reduce the entry cost for individual investors and expand the investor base. Boosted by the AI investment boom, Kioxia's stock price has surged by approximately 800% year-to-date, making it an absolute hot target in the Japanese stock market.

Underlying Logic: AI Computing Boom Reshapes Memory Industry Valuations

The clustering of memory giants listing in the U.S. is not an isolated event, but an inevitable trend driven by the continuous expansion of AI data centers. Micron Technology's recently released earnings, which significantly exceeded expectations, have completely ignited market confidence in AI memory demand.

Although Kioxia's core business, NAND flash, cannot directly handle AI computing tasks like HBM, the importance of NAND flash is being re-evaluated as AI large language models expand and data volumes skyrocket. Kioxia President Hiroo Ota pointed out that with the proliferation of agentic AI and physical AI, memory demand will continue to rise, and the company's long-term supply contracts with major U.S. cloud service providers are steadily increasing. Industry consensus holds that the tight supply of HBM will further drive demand for data center memory equipment, creating an extremely favorable environment for the NAND flash industry.