CXMT Shares Surge 466% in China's Largest Chip IPO, Market Cap Hits $490 Billion

Shares of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) soared 466% in their first day of trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market, closing at 49 yuan ($7.24). The rally gave the DRAM chipmaker a market capitalization of approximately 3.3 trillion yuan ($490 billion), making it the most valuable company listed in mainland China.

During intraday trading, CXMT’s market value briefly topped internet giant Tencent Holdings, reaching as high as $547 billion, according to reports. Tencent reclaimed the top spot by the close, but CXMT ended the day as China's largest onshore-listed firm.

The company raised at least $8.6 billion by selling 6.7 billion shares at 8.66 yuan each. It was mainland China's second-largest IPO ever, behind only the Agricultural Bank of China's $22.1 billion offering in 2010. According to reports, the IPO was 212 times oversubscribed. CXMT generated 141 billion yuan in turnover on its debut day, representing nearly 7% of all transactions in China's onshore market.

The explosive debut reflects surging demand for memory chips driven by the artificial intelligence boom. CXMT is China's leading producer of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips, used in smartphones, personal computers, servers, and AI systems. It is the world's fourth-largest DRAM maker by shipments, holding roughly 9% of the global market in the first quarter of 2026, according to Counterpoint Research. Samsung Electronics accounted for 36%, SK Hynix 29%, and Micron about 24% in 2025.

The company's growth has accelerated sharply. First-quarter revenue jumped 719% year-on-year to 50.8 billion yuan ($7.5 billion), according to its IPO prospectus. For the first half of 2026, revenue is expected to hit 110 billion to 120 billion yuan, nearly doubling the company's full-year 2025 revenue of 61.8 billion yuan.

“CXMT plays a critical role in China’s AI push, particularly in the face of U.S. export controls,” said Kyle Chan, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, as quoted by a report.

The company benefits from strong state backing. Before the IPO, state-owned shareholders held 36.29%, including investors linked to Hefei and Anhui local governments and China's state-backed semiconductor investment fund known as the "Big Fund." A key figure behind the company is Zhu Yiming, founder of GigaDevice Semiconductor, who is described in company filings as central to CXMT's creation and development and later became its chairman.

Despite the blockbuster valuation, CXMT remains far smaller than its global rivals. SK Hynix has a market capitalization of $881 billion, Micron about $1 trillion, and Samsung Electronics $1.1 trillion. Counterpoint Research forecasts CXMT's global market share could reach 11% by 2028, but estimates the company likely needs at least 15% to be competitive long-term.

“Trade restrictions on tools are remaining as the key challenge for CXMT,” said MS Hwang, a research director at Counterpoint specializing in memory semiconductors, as reported in multiple accounts.

U.S. export controls limit CXMT's access to advanced chipmaking equipment from suppliers such as ASML, forcing it to rely on Chinese tool makers. Some U.S. lawmakers have called on the Trump administration to block American companies from buying CXMT's memory chips over national and economic security concerns. The Pentagon has designated CXMT a "Chinese Military Company," a label Beijing typically rejects.

The company also faces competition in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a high-performance DRAM variant critical for AI accelerators. Samsung and SK Hynix dominate the HBM market, and U.S. restrictions bar China from importing HBM chips. CXMT is seen as China's best hope to develop its own HBM capability, though it trails technologically.

Apple Inc. is in negotiations to purchase memory chips from CXMT for use in devices sold in China, according to reports. Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal that "everything needs to be on the table" regarding potential sourcing from CXMT. The Financial Times has reported that Apple is lobbying the Trump administration for a waiver to buy chips from the blacklisted company.

“The stock’s opening was largely in line with my expectations, but the sharp move higher after the open has been remarkable,” said Ao Fei, managing director at Beijing Xinhan Capital, as quoted in a report. “Given how scarce pure-play memory names are in the A-share market, I wouldn’t rule out a period of speculative frenzy in the first few trading days.”

CXMT's IPO follows a $26.5 billion listing by South Korea's SK Hynix on the Nasdaq earlier this month. The broader global memory chip shortage has lifted chip companies worldwide and forced retailers to raise prices on cars and mobile phones, with some analysts forecasting the supply crunch could last years.