SK Hynix's Nasdaq Debut, Measured

On July 10, 2026, SK Hynix, the Korean memory-chip giant and Micron's closest listed rival, began trading on the Nasdaq, in the year's second-largest US listing after SpaceX's June deal. This page assembles the SK Hynix Nasdaq debut from primary records: the raise, the day-one tape, the young spread, the short-volume file, and the options tape's meaningful silence. Every number is a stored query; expand any panel for the SQL.

Who is SK Hynix, and why this debut matters

SK Hynix is one of the world's two dominant memory-chip makers, alongside Samsung Electronics, with Micron the third of the big three. It builds DRAM, the working memory in every server and PC, NAND flash for storage, and, the AI-era hook, HBM: high-bandwidth memory, stacks of DRAM bonded directly alongside an AI accelerator to feed it data fast enough to stay busy. Every leading AI GPU ships with HBM attached, which puts SK Hynix squarely inside the AI-hardware supply chain that has dominated the 2026 tape. Until July 10, a US investor wanting pure-play listed memory exposure had essentially one large ticker, MU. Now both memory giants print on the same tape, in dollars, during US hours.

The paper trail and the deal

The listing record and the SEC filing index pin down the deal, venue, wrapper, size, and the arithmetic connecting them:

WITH sk AS (
    SELECT
        any(issuer_name) AS issuer,
        toString(any(listing_date)) AS listed,
        any(primary_exchange) AS exchange_mic,
        any(security_description) AS security,
        round(toFloat64(any(final_issue_price)), 2) AS px,
        round(any(total_offer_size) / 1e9, 1) AS raised,
        round(any(max_shares_offered) / 1e6, 1) AS ads_m,
        round(any(max_shares_offered) * toFloat64(any(final_issue_price)) / 1e9, 1) AS math_bn,
        any(total_offer_size) AS raw_size
    FROM global_markets.stocks_ipos
    WHERE issuer_name = 'SK Hynix Inc' AND listing_date = '2026-07-10'
)
SELECT
    issuer,
    listed,
    exchange_mic,
    security,
    px AS recorded_issue_price,
    raised AS raised_bn,
    ads_m AS ads_offered_m,
    math_bn AS shares_x_price_bn,
    (SELECT count() FROM global_markets.stocks_ipos
     WHERE listing_date >= '2026-01-01' AND listing_date <= '2026-07-10'
       AND total_offer_size > (SELECT raw_size FROM sk)) AS larger_2026_raises,
    (SELECT countIf(form_type IN ('F-1', 'F-1/A')) FROM global_markets.stocks_sec_edgar_index
     WHERE issuer_name ILIKE '%hynix%' AND filing_date >= '2026-05-01' AND filing_date <= '2026-07-10') AS f1_registrations,
    (SELECT countIf(form_type = 'F-6') FROM global_markets.stocks_sec_edgar_index
     WHERE issuer_name ILIKE '%hynix%' AND filing_date >= '2026-05-01' AND filing_date <= '2026-07-10') AS f6_adr_registrations
FROM sk

The records: SK Hynix Inc, listed 2026-07-10 on exchange XNAS, the Market Identifier Code for the Nasdaq Stock Market, the receipt for the venue in this page's title. The security field reads ADR: the US line is American Depositary Shares, the wrapper US investors actually trade, on ordinary shares that stay listed in Seoul. The deal itself: 177.9 million ADSs at a recorded issue price of $158.14. Multiply the two and you get $28.1B, matching the recorded 28.1B raise; the arithmetic closes. Exactly 1 US listing raised more in 2026, SpaceX's June deal, a rank the league table below shows rather than asserts. The filing trail marks a foreign private issuer debut: 2 F-1 registrations (the overseas equivalent of an S-1) and 1 F-6, the form that registers the ADS program itself.

What the record does not carry is worth stating plainly. Its lowest and highest recorded offer prices are equal, the field stores the final price, not the marketed range, so pricing-versus-range is not checkable here. Underwriter names and the ADS-to-ordinary-share ratio live inside the F-1 and F-6 documents; our EDGAR index counts those filings without parsing their contents. The shares-outstanding field is empty, so this page computes no market capitalization, we do not publish figures we cannot receipt. The ratio still matters mechanically: each ADS represents a fixed number of ordinary shares set in the F-6, and depositary banks can create or cancel ADSs against the Seoul line, the conversion channel through which the US price and the Korean price discipline each other.

Where a $28B raise ranks in 2026

"Second-largest of the year" is a claim, so here is the league table, straight from the offering records, full context in the H1 IPO ledger:

SELECT
    issuer_name,
    toString(max(listing_date)) AS listed,
    round(max(total_offer_size) / 1e9, 1) AS raised_bn,
    round(100 * max(total_offer_size) / max(max(total_offer_size)) OVER (), 1) AS pct_of_largest
FROM global_markets.stocks_ipos
WHERE listing_date >= '2026-01-01' AND listing_date <= '2026-07-10'
  AND ipo_status IN ('new', 'history') AND total_offer_size > 0
GROUP BY issuer_name
ORDER BY raised_bn DESC, issuer_name
LIMIT 8

SpaceX's June listing leads at $75B; SK Hynix's $28.1B stands second at 37.5% of it, and third place, Cerebras Systems Inc, raised $5.6B. The chart's real story is the cliff after second place: 2026 has been a two-mega-deal year, and this is one of the two.

One disambiguation, since two dollar figures on this page sit close enough to conflate: the $28.1B is the offering, capital paid once, at the issue price, while the $18.03B below is day-one trading turnover, shares changing hands at market prices, mostly between investors who were never part of the deal.

The first session, on one row

SELECT
    round(toFloat64(argMinIf(open, window_start, (toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60 + toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))) BETWEEN 570 AND 959)), 2) AS first_rth_print,
    round(100 * (toFloat64(argMinIf(open, window_start, (toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60 + toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))) BETWEEN 570 AND 959))
        / (SELECT toFloat64(any(final_issue_price)) FROM global_markets.stocks_ipos
           WHERE issuer_name = 'SK Hynix Inc' AND listing_date = '2026-07-10') - 1), 1) AS open_vs_issue_pct,
    round(minIf(toFloat64(low), (toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60 + toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))) BETWEEN 570 AND 959), 2) AS day_low,
    round(maxIf(toFloat64(high), (toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60 + toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))) BETWEEN 570 AND 959), 2) AS day_high,
    round(toFloat64(argMaxIf(close, window_start, (toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60 + toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))) BETWEEN 570 AND 959)), 2) AS first_close,
    round(100 * (toFloat64(argMaxIf(close, window_start, (toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60 + toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))) BETWEEN 570 AND 959))
        / (SELECT toFloat64(any(final_issue_price)) FROM global_markets.stocks_ipos
           WHERE issuer_name = 'SK Hynix Inc' AND listing_date = '2026-07-10') - 1), 1) AS close_vs_issue_pct,
    round(sumIf(toFloat64(close) * toFloat64(volume), (toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60 + toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))) BETWEEN 570 AND 959) / 1e9, 2) AS rth_dollar_bn,
    round(toFloat64(sum(volume)) / 1e6, 1) AS day_shares_m,
    (SELECT count() FROM global_markets.delayed_stocks_minute_aggs
     WHERE ticker = 'SKHYV' AND window_start < toDateTime('2026-07-10 00:00:00')) AS bars_before_debut
FROM global_markets.delayed_stocks_minute_aggs
WHERE ticker = 'SKHYV'
  AND window_start >= toDateTime('2026-07-10 04:00:00') AND window_start < toDateTime('2026-07-11 00:00:00')

The first regular-hours print crossed at $170, 7.5% above the recorded issue price. The session ranged from a $177 high to a $166.19 low and closed at $168.33, still 6.4% above issue after fading from the open, on 18.03B of regular-hours dollars and 106.8 million extended-day shares: fifth-heaviest name on the entire tape, ahead of QQQ, as the day's recap records. The symbol receipt: 0 minute bars exist before July 10, a genuinely new symbol, unlike the reused one SpaceX's debut arrived on.

Day-one microstructure: a young spread

A new listing's bid-ask spread starts wide and tightens as market makers learn the name, day one is hour zero of that seasoning:

How the day actually assembled, print by print, when the cross landed, how much stock changed hands on and off exchange, and what the closing auction settled:

SELECT
    formatDateTime(toTimeZone(min(sip_timestamp), 'America/New_York'), '%H:%i:%S') AS first_print_et,
    round(toFloat64(argMin(price, sip_timestamp)), 2) AS first_print_px,
    round(toFloat64(sumIf(size, NOT hasAny(conditions, [15, 16, 38]))) / 1e6, 1) AS matched_shares_m,
    round(toFloat64(maxIf(size, has(conditions, 8))) / 1e6, 2) AS closing_cross_shares_m,
    round(toFloat64(argMaxIf(price, (size, sip_timestamp), has(conditions, 8))), 2) AS official_close,
    round(100 * toFloat64(maxIf(size, has(conditions, 8))) / toFloat64(sumIf(size, NOT hasAny(conditions, [15, 16, 38]))), 1) AS cross_pct_of_day,
    round(100 * toFloat64(sumIf(size, exchange = 4 AND NOT hasAny(conditions, [15, 16, 38]))) / toFloat64(sumIf(size, NOT hasAny(conditions, [15, 16, 38]))), 1) AS off_exchange_pct
FROM global_markets.stocks_trades
WHERE ticker = 'SKHYV'
  AND sip_timestamp >= '2026-07-10 00:00:00' AND sip_timestamp < '2026-07-11 00:00:00'

The first print landed at 11:34:47 ET at $170, a late-morning IPO cross, the standard shape for a debut, with the whole pre-cross session quoted one-sided. 107.7 million shares matched on the day, 33% of them off-exchange, and the closing auction printed 0.82 million shares at the official close of $168.01, just 0.8% of the day, a reminder that a debut's action lives in continuous trading, not the close.

SELECT
    toHour(toTimeZone(sip_timestamp, 'America/New_York')) AS et_hour,
    round(quantileDeterministicIf(0.5)((toFloat64(ask_price) - toFloat64(bid_price)) / ((toFloat64(ask_price) + toFloat64(bid_price)) / 2) * 10000, toUInt64(toUnixTimestamp64Micro(sip_timestamp)), bid_price > 0 AND ask_price > bid_price), 1) AS med_spread_bps,
    count() AS quote_updates,
    countIf(bid_price > 0 AND ask_price > bid_price) AS two_sided_updates
FROM global_markets.cache_stocks_quotes
WHERE ticker = 'SKHYV'
  AND sip_timestamp >= toDateTime64('2026-07-10 13:30:00', 9) AND sip_timestamp < toDateTime64('2026-07-10 20:00:00', 9)
  AND (toHour(sip_timestamp) * 60 + toMinute(sip_timestamp)) BETWEEN 810 AND 1199
GROUP BY et_hour
HAVING countIf(bid_price > 0 AND ask_price > bid_price) > 0
ORDER BY et_hour

Until the IPO cross printed at 11:34:47 ET there was no two-sided market to measure, the table starts at the first hour with real quotes on both sides. From there the median spread ran 10 bps in its first measurable hour and finished the day tighter (4.1 bps), already tighter on day one than SpaceX's June listing showed in its early sessions, consistent with the size of the deal and the two-sided interest a direct rival to MU attracts. Where the spread settles by week two is the seasoning receipt to watch.

The memory trade, same session

The debut landed in the middle of the most-traded story of the month: MU, the stock that out-traded SPY itself for the whole week, plus the drive makers STX and WDC. Here is the whole memory complex on debut day, regular hours only:

SELECT
    ticker,
    round(toFloat64(argMinIf(open, window_start, (toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60 + toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))) BETWEEN 570 AND 959)), 2) AS rth_open,
    round(toFloat64(argMaxIf(close, window_start, (toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60 + toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))) BETWEEN 570 AND 959)), 2) AS rth_close,
    round(100 * (toFloat64(argMaxIf(close, window_start, (toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60 + toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))) BETWEEN 570 AND 959)) / toFloat64(argMinIf(open, window_start, (toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60 + toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))) BETWEEN 570 AND 959)) - 1), 2) AS open_to_close_pct,
    round(sumIf(toFloat64(close) * toFloat64(volume), (toHour(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York')) * 60 + toMinute(toTimeZone(window_start, 'America/New_York'))) BETWEEN 570 AND 959) / 1e9, 2) AS rth_dollar_bn
FROM global_markets.delayed_stocks_minute_aggs
WHERE ticker IN ('SKHYV', 'MU', 'WDC', 'STX')
  AND window_start >= toDateTime('2026-07-10 04:00:00') AND window_start < toDateTime('2026-07-11 00:00:00')
GROUP BY ticker
ORDER BY rth_dollar_bn DESC, ticker

MU out-traded the newcomer even on its debut: $25.9B against SKHYV's $18.03B, first and second among memory names, with the drive makers far behind at $3.09B and $1.68B. Direction split across the complex: MU finished 1.42% higher open-to-close and the drive makers rallied harder, STX 5.7%, WDC 3.28%, while the debut itself faded -0.98% from first print to close. Co-timing, on the record, and the new line instantly the sector's second-heaviest tape.

Short sellers arrived on day one

FINRA's daily off-exchange volume file breaks out the short-marked share, and SKHYV appears in it from its very first session:

SELECT
    round(max(short_volume) / 1e6, 1) AS short_shares_m,
    round(max(total_volume) / 1e6, 1) AS offex_shares_m,
    round(100 * max(short_volume) / max(total_volume), 1) AS short_pct_of_offex,
    (SELECT uniqExact(ticker) FROM global_markets.stocks_short_volume WHERE date = '2026-07-10') AS file_ticker_count,
    (SELECT max(ticker) FROM global_markets.stocks_short_volume WHERE date = '2026-07-10') AS file_last_ticker
FROM global_markets.stocks_short_volume
WHERE ticker = 'SKHYV' AND date = '2026-07-10'

21.3 million of 34.9 million off-exchange shares, 60.8%, were marked short on debut day. Two disciplines before reading meaning into that. First, the file is complete: 15116 tickers, running through ZYME, the completeness probe the June 29 forensics deep-dive shows can fail mid-alphabet. Second, marked-short is plumbing before it is conviction: a market maker selling shares it has not yet located marks the print short as a regulatory classification, and new listings route heavily through that machinery. Daily short volume is not short interest; the first settlement-based print lands on the bi-weekly cycle later this month, that number measures positioning.

Options: a receipt of absence, with a clock

No listed options traded on the debut, this page stores that zero as data, next to a clock from the year's two other big debuts:

SELECT
    (SELECT count() FROM global_markets.options_trades
     WHERE ticker LIKE 'O:SKHYV%'
       AND sip_timestamp >= toDateTime64('2026-07-10 00:00:00', 9) AND sip_timestamp < toDateTime64('2026-07-11 00:00:00', 9)) AS skhyv_debut_day_option_trades,
    (SELECT dateDiff('day', toDate('2026-06-12'), min(toDate(toTimeZone(sip_timestamp, 'America/New_York'))))
     FROM global_markets.options_trades
     WHERE ticker LIKE 'O:SPCX%'
       AND sip_timestamp >= toDateTime64('2026-06-12 00:00:00', 9) AND sip_timestamp < toDateTime64('2026-07-11 00:00:00', 9)) AS spacex_days_to_first_option,
    (SELECT dateDiff('day', toDate('2026-05-14'), min(toDate(toTimeZone(sip_timestamp, 'America/New_York'))))
     FROM global_markets.options_trades
     WHERE ticker LIKE 'O:CBRS%'
       AND sip_timestamp >= toDateTime64('2026-05-14 00:00:00', 9) AND sip_timestamp < toDateTime64('2026-07-11 00:00:00', 9)) AS cerebras_days_to_first_option

0 SKHYV option contracts printed on July 10, a receipt of absence stored as a deliberate tripwire: the zero is bounded at exactly zero, so the day options start printing, regeneration fails loudly and this section gets rewritten rather than quietly going stale. The clock from comparables: SpaceX's June 12 listing saw its first listed-option trade 4 calendar days after its debut; Cerebras's May 14 listing took 4, both inside a week. When the contracts arrive, they join the machinery the expiration calendar explains.

Risks and what to watch next

Day one is the only complete session that exists: the debut was a Friday and this page went up over the weekend, so the second session prints Monday, July 13, its receipts land in the daily recaps, with a one-month review to follow in the mold of SpaceX's first-month review. The watchlist:

• The two-price structure. The Seoul ordinaries trade in won during Korean hours; the ADS trades in dollars during US hours. The dollar price carries the won rate inside it, gaps can open while one market sleeps, and depositary conversion closes them, an ADS holder mechanically owns a currency exposure too.
• The lock-up. Insider lock-up terms are set in the F-1, customarily around 180 days, exact date in the prospectus (which our EDGAR index counts, not parses). Expiry is a known future supply event.
• Index eligibility. SpaceX's index add showed what an inclusion announcement does to a young ticker's tape. Committees publish their own rules and timelines; an announcement, if one comes, is a tape event to measure, not to predict.
• The first short-interest settlement print, which converts day-one short-volume plumbing into an actual positioning number.

SK Hynix debut FAQ

What is SK Hynix's US ticker, and where does it trade?

The US line trades as SKHYV on the Nasdaq, the listing record carries exchange code XNAS, Nasdaq's Market Identifier Code, and security type ADR: American Depositary Shares, with the ordinary shares remaining listed in Seoul.

How big was the SK Hynix US listing?

177.9 million ADSs at $158.14, a 28.1B raise, the second-largest US listing of 2026: exactly 1 deal, SpaceX's June raise, came in bigger, per the H1 ledger.

How did SK Hynix stock do on its first day?

It opened 7.5% above the issue price at $170, ranged $166.19–$177, and closed at $168.33, 6.4% above issue, on 18.03B of regular-hours dollar volume, the session's fifth-heaviest tape.

How many ordinary shares does one SKHYV ADS represent?

The ratio is fixed in the F-6 registration (1 on file in the run-up), not a field the listing record carries, read it from the F-6 or the depositary's program page before comparing the US price to the Seoul quote.

When will SK Hynix options start trading?

Zero SKHYV contracts printed on debut day. The year's two other large debuts took 4 and 4 calendar days to their first listed-option trade, if SKHYV follows the pattern, options arrive within its first week, and this page's tripwire flags the moment they do.

Data notes

Every panel is a stored, versioned query over listing records, SEC filings, and the tape, expand the SQL, or follow the seasoning on the Strasmore terminal.