3 Reasons SK Hynix Could Outperform Micron Over the Next Decade

SK Hynix and Micron Technology (MU) are the biggest winners in the artificial intelligence (AI) memory boom. Both have a similar business model of supplying DRAM for working memory, NAND flash for storage, and increasingly high-bandwidth memory (HBM). SK Hynix is a South Korean memory chip company that is not listed on the U.S. market yet. Meanwhile, Micron is a U.S.-based memory company and the easier stock for U.S. investors to buy now.

But is that the only reason to prefer Micron? SK Hynix is reportedly moving closer to a U.S. listing that could arrive as soon as August. SK Hynix stock has climbed 292% year-to-date (YTD), compared to Micron’s 268% gain so far this year. 

If an investor now wants to own an AI memory stock for the next decade, is SK Hynix a better bet than Micron? Here are three reasons why that may be the case. 

1. SK Hynix Is Leading in HBM, the Most Important AI Memory Category

One of the clear reasons why SK Hynix could outperform Micron over the next decade is its superior position in HBM, the most important memory category in AI infrastructure. HBM is a high-end stacked memory used in AI accelerators, where performance, packaging capability, yield, quality, and supply stability are just as important as chip design. In its first-quarter earnings call, SK Hynix management said outright that it is “leading the market” in HBM. Unlike other memory products, which are mostly cyclical, in HBM the bar is much higher. It is the advanced stacked memory used alongside AI GPUs and accelerators. Without enough HBM, even the most powerful AI chips can’t reach their full performance.

SK Hynix has spent the last few years building a leading position in HBM, where Micron is still making meaningful progress. Notably, SK Hynix has established itself as a lead supplier to Nvidia’s (NVDA) AI platforms at the right moment when hyperscaler and enterprise demand for AI servers are exploding. The company is already working closely with customers on HBM4 from the early stages of development and plans to ramp volume in line with agreed schedules. HBM is a strategic product with longer visibility, stronger customer relationships, and higher switching costs. This creates a competitive advantage for the South Korean chip giant. 

2. It Is Not Just an HBM Story. It Is Benefiting Across the Full AI Memory Stack

The second reason SK Hynix could outperform Micron is that its AI opportunity is expanding beyond HBM itself. Management stressed that AI is progressing beyond the training phase of large-scale models to include inference and agentic AI. The company is experiencing high demand for not only HBM but also server DRAM modules and enterprise SSDs across the system.

The company is building more products to capitalize on this broader AI opportunity. In DRAM, it finished making the industry’s first 1z-based LPDDR6, which has a 33% faster data processing speed and more than 20% higher power efficiency than LPDDR5X. SK Hynix also began mass production of a 192GB SOCAMM2 product optimized for Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform. This product provides more than twice the bandwidth of traditional RDIMMs and is 75%-plus more energy efficient. Similarly, in NAND, SK Hynix is expanding sales of 321-layer-based products and enterprise SSDs.

3. Turning AI Demand Into Extraordinary Profits and Financial Firepower

SK Hynix is monetizing the AI memory boom at an extraordinary level. In Q1, revenue climbed a staggering 198% year-over-year (YOY) to 52.6 trillion won. This marked the first time quarterly revenue topped 50 trillion won, setting a new all-time high for the company. Net profit totaled 40.3 trillion won, with a 77% margin. These numbers reflect the performance of a company enjoying pricing power, tight supply conditions, and a product mix increasingly tilted toward the highest-value parts of the market. According to SK Hynix, DRAM average selling prices (ASP) increased by mid-60% sequentially, while NAND ASP increased by mid-70%, fueled by server DRAM, enterprise SSDs, and a trend toward high-value-added products.

If AI demand keeps memory markets tighter for longer, and if premium products such as HBM, server DRAM, and enterprise SSDs continue taking a larger share of industry profits, then SK Hynix’s numbers may not just be a one-off peak quarter. 

According to Reuters, SK Hynix has informed investors that it is getting strong support for its planned U.S. ADR listing, which it intends to issue sometime this year. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. Investors’ appetite for AI infrastructure and memory stocks remains high as they continue to benefit from booming AI demand. Investors will then have an option to choose if they prefer SK Hynix over Micron for the next decade. Investors can also still buy SK Hynix now indirectly through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that hold the stock, such as the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY), the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM), and the Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF (FLKR).