Shares of SK Square, the investment holding company spun off from SK Telecom that controls a major stake in chipmaker SK hynix, surged from a low of ₩1,118,000 on June 8 to ₩1,358,000 by June 12 — a 21% rebound in four trading days — as bargain hunters piled in following an ex-dividend-related selloff and fading headwinds across global semiconductor stocks. SK Square Snaps Back 21% in Four Days After Dividend Selloff — but Can It Finally Shed the Holding-Company Discount?
Shares surged as bargain hunters swooped in after SK Square's stock cratered roughly 10% around its May 14 ex-dividend date, compounded by a broader global tech selloff in early June. The bounce from ₩1,118,000 to ₩1,358,000 in four sessions raises a pointed question: is the market finally pricing this holding company closer to the enormous value of what it actually owns?
The Entire Story Is Really About One Asset: SK hynix
SK Square is an investment holding company with shares in SK hynix, meaning semiconductor industry recovery and share price gains directly impact its earnings and corporate value.
The share price correlation between SK Square and SK hynix stands at around 98%.
As of June 2026, SK hynix has a market cap of $1.005 trillion.
SK Square's Q1 operating profit and net profit increased by 400% and 419% year-over-year, driven by equity method gains from SK hynix, in which it holds a 20.5% stake.
The Stock Still Trades at Roughly Half of What It Owns
As of June 4, SK Square's total net asset value — the combined worth of its portfolio — stood at ₩340.9 trillion, or ₩2,583,184 per share, with SK hynix alone accounting for ₩335.7 trillion. At the current price of ₩1,358,000, the stock trades at a discount of roughly 47% to that figure. The NAV discount rate stood at 45.1% as of late April, a clear improvement from 65.7% at the end of 2024 and 51.5% at the end of 2025.
SK Square has set a new goal to further lower its NAV discount rate to below 30% by 2028.
Buybacks and Dividends Are Giving Investors a Reason to Stay
SK Square plans to return a total of ₩310 billion to shareholders from this year through early next year, including its first-ever cash dividend — a tax-free payout totaling ₩200 billion — along with a ₩110 billion share buyback.
The company has already completed a ₩100 billion buyback with cancellation in early 2026 and launched a further ₩40 billion repurchase program.
Analysts See More Room to Run — If the Chip Cycle Holds
NH Investment & Securities raised its target price for SK Square to ₩1.1 million from ₩740,000.
The brokerage lifted its operating profit forecast for SK Square this year to ₩40.6 trillion from ₩24.6 trillion, an increase of 65%. The risk is straightforward: the rapid growth of Chinese memory manufacturers could lead to excessive capacity buildout, significantly eroding memory prices. For now, the rebound signals that investors consider the post-dividend dip an opportunity — but the discount to underlying value remains large enough to suggest lingering skepticism about how much a holding company structure can ever capture for shareholders.