In late July 2026, the global memory chip market experienced significant structural divergence under the continuous catalyst of the AI computing power arms race. High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), as a core component of AI training and inference infrastructure, is facing an unprecedented supply-demand tightness. As a result, US-listed ADRs of Asian memory chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix performed strongly during the trading session from July 24 to 25, driving overall Asian semiconductor sector to gain capital favor.
HBM Supply Shortage: Capacity Ramp-Up and Order Lock-in
According to the latest report released by industry research firm TrendForce on July 24, the global HBM market size in 2026 is expected to exceed $35 billion, a year-on-year increase of over 60%. However, the HBM capacity utilization rates of major suppliers Samsung and SK Hynix are nearing their limits. Although SK Hynix's fifth-generation HBM3E product yield has improved to over 80%, new capacity release still needs to wait until the fourth quarter of 2026. Samsung is accelerating its HBM4 development, planning mass production in 2027, and its current HBM3 products have secured long-term order lock-in from NVIDIA for its next-generation GPU.
“The supply bottleneck of HBM is shifting from capacity to packaging materials and testing,” emphasized semiconductor industry analyst Li Ming in the latest research report. “Especially the chip stacking process through silicon interposer (Si-Interposer) still faces high technical barriers.” This makes second-tier memory maker Micron face more challenges in catching up, while Samsung and SK Hynix continue to expand their market share with their first-mover advantages.
DRAM Price Cycle Shows Signs of Bottoming Out and Recovery
Compared with the strong demand for HBM, the market performance of traditional DRAM (including DDR4 and DDR5) has shown subtle changes recently. On July 25, DRAMeXchange data showed that the average spot price of 8Gb DDR5 chips rose 1.2% from the beginning of the month to $3.45, ending a three-month consecutive decline. Industry insiders point out that although the demand for end PCs and smartphones has not fully recovered, data center server procurement of DDR5 increased significantly in the second quarter, partially offsetting the weakness in the consumer market.
Notably, both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have signaled in recent earnings calls that traditional DRAM prices are expected to enter a moderate recovery channel in the second half of 2026. Goldman Sachs, in a research report released on July 24, upgraded the rating of the memory chip industry, believing that “the AI-driven memory upgrade cycle has just begun, rather than nearing its end.”
Asian Memory Chip US-Listed ADR Performance: Accelerated Capital Inflows
In the US stock market, Asian memory chip ADRs have become the focus of capital pursuit recently. On July 24, Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) closed up 2.3%, hitting a 52-week high during the session, with trading volume expanding 35% from the previous day. SK Hynix (HXSCL) rose 3.1% that day, briefly breaking through the $120 per share mark during the session, setting a historical high. Market analysis believes that besides fundamental support, the valuation repair of technology growth stocks under the expectation of Fed rate cuts is also an important driver.
- Samsung Electronics ADR (SSNLF): Closing price $1,580.20 on July 24, with a year-to-date gain of 28%. Investors recently focus on the dual-drive effect of its chip foundry business and HBM business.
- SK Hynix ADR (HXSCL): Closing price $119.88 on July 24, with a year-to-date gain of 41%. Institutional holdings data shows that Soros Fund added it as a top ten holding in the second quarter.
- Micron (MU): Closing price $118.45 on July 24, up 1.5%, relatively lagging behind Samsung and SK Hynix, but AI-related memory revenue share increased to 40%.
In addition, in the Asia-Pacific market, semiconductor equipment companies such as Tokyo Electron and Disco also rose on the same day, reflecting the transmission effect of demand across the entire industry chain. A strategist at DBS Bank in Singapore pointed out: “The rise of Asian memory chip stocks is not an isolated event, but the result of the global AI hardware investment boom spreading to the memory sector.”
Industry Outlook: HBM Penetration Rate Increase and Potential Risks
Looking ahead to the second half of the year, industry consensus believes that HBM will continue to dominate the memory chip market. NVIDIA's upcoming Blackwell Ultra GPU is expected to come with higher-capacity HBM3E, further exacerbating supply tightness. Samsung and SK Hynix have both announced expansion plans, but new factories typically take 12-18 months from construction to mass production, so the HBM supply-demand gap will remain throughout 2026.
However, investors also need to be wary of potential risks. On one hand, if the global economic recession exceeds expectations, AI capital expenditures may be cut. On the other hand, geopolitical frictions may affect the exports of Korean semiconductor companies, especially the uncertainty of US technology controls on China. Recently, there have been reports that the US government is considering further restricting exports of advanced memory chips to China. Although HBM products are currently not on the direct control list, industry tussles continue.
Xinggang Stock News will continue to track the dynamics of Asian memory chip US-listed ADRs, providing investors with timely and in-depth global market information.
