Micron's Biggest Rival Just Got a Lot Easier for US Investors to Own

Memory has emerged as one of the biggest bottlenecks in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, which explains why the demand for these chips has simply taken off in recent years.

In fact, memory demand is so strong that the ongoing supply shortage in this industry is anticipated to last beyond 2030. Not surprisingly, investors have been buying memory stocks, such as Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) and Sandisk, hand over fist over the past year. However, there is a new addition to this list following the U.S. listing of South Korean memory giant SK Hynix (NASDAQ: SKHY).

This Micron competitor could become one of the biggest winners of the AI-fueled memory boom. Importantly, U.S. investors can now easily invest in this semiconductor stock by buying its Nasdaq-listed American Depository Receipts (ADRs). Let's see why doing so could turn out to be a smart move.

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SK Hynix is bigger than Micron

Micron has been one of the most sought-after memory manufacturers for investors, primarily due to its red-hot revenue and earnings growth. This explains why Micron stock has jumped by a stunning 689% over the past year. SK Hynix, however, has also witnessed a phenomenal 606% rise on the Korean stock market over the past year.

That's not surprising, as it is one of the biggest players in the memory chip market. SK Hynix has been benefiting from rapidly rising prices and a growing appetite for dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and NAND flash chips. Its operating profit rose by 5x year over year in the first quarter of 2026, while revenue nearly tripled. The company's operating margin also reached a record 72% during the quarter.

Micron's non-GAAP operating margin, meanwhile, landed at 81.2% in the most recent quarter. However, SK Hynix seems well-positioned to bridge the margin gap with Micron owing to its higher market share. According to Counterpoint Research, SK Hynix's DRAM market share was 29% in the first quarter of 2026, seven points higher than Micron's share. The Korean behemoth enjoyed a much larger share of 58% in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), well above Micron's 21%.

Investors should note that HBM demand has been growing exponentially, as this type of memory helps transport massive data sets in AI chip clusters and data centers in an energy-efficient manner. HBM plays a critical role in ensuring that AI accelerator chips don't waste time and energy waiting for data. So, it is easy to see why HBM demand is so strong that the price of these chips is poised to double in 2027, according to DigiTimes.

SK Hynix's position as the leading HBM vendor suggests that its terrific revenue and earnings growth are poised to continue. What's more, SK Hynix holds an 18% market share in NAND flash storage chips, above Micron's 13%. This is another terrific reason to buy SK Hynix stock. After all, NAND flash prices are projected to jump by a whopping 234% in 2026, according to Gartner.

SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung recently noted that the memory shortage could worsen in 2027, suggesting prices could continue to rise. He also noted that robust customer demand for memory chips and capacity constraints will ensure that demand for memory continues to outstrip supply beyond 2030.

All this suggests that buying this AI stock could be one of the smartest moves you can make right now, especially considering that SK Hynix is extremely undervalued right now.

This memory stock is about to go parabolic

We have already seen that SK Hynix stock has soared impressively over the past year. However, it isn't done soaring yet. Analysts are anticipating a 429% increase in its earnings per share (EPS) in 2026 to 319,109.97 South Korean won, according to Yahoo! Finance consensus estimates, which translates into $214.21 per share at the current exchange rate. However, as each ADR of SK Hynix represents a tenth of its common share, the EPS per ADR would be around $21.42 based on the converted amount.

SK Hynix is trading at 22.3 times trailing earnings, a discount to the tech-focused Nasdaq-100 index's average earnings multiple of 34.5. Assuming it trades at a discounted 20 times earnings at the end of 2026 and its EPS per ADR lands at $21.42, its stock price could reach $428 over the next few months.

That's just over 2x SK Hynix's current stock price, indicating that investors can buy this potential multibagger at an attractive valuation right now.

Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Micron Technology. The Motley Fool recommends Gartner. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.