CXMT (formerly ChangXin Memory Technologies) saw its shares skyrocket by 466% on its Shanghai trading debut on Monday, making it the most valuable listed company in mainland China with a market capitalization of 3.3 trillion yuan (approximately $487.73 billion). This valuation surpassed Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and even U.S. chip giant Intel.
The company raised 57.92 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) in its initial public offering, making it the largest mainland Chinese semiconductor offering on record. The shares closed at 49 yuan, significantly up from their IPO price of 8.66 yuan per share, although they reached an intraday high of 55.03 yuan.
Driving investor excitement is China's push for self-sufficiency in advanced chips and the booming demand for memory chips fueled by artificial intelligence. CXMT's revenue in the first three months of 2026 surged by over 700% year-on-year to 50.8 billion yuan (approximately $6.4 billion), and it expects first-half revenue to be between 110 billion and 120 billion yuan. Counterpoint Research estimated CXMT's global DRAM market share at 8% in 2025 by shipments, with a projection to reach 11% by 2028.
Analysts expressed concerns about the surge, with Yuan Yuwei of Trinity Synergy Investments calling the stock "too expensive" and indicative of speculation. Jing Jie Yu of Morningstar noted the deal was priced at a steep discount, approximately one times Morningstar's estimated 2027 price-to-book value, compared to 2.1 to 2.3 times for global peers. Challenges remain, including U.S. export controls on chipmaking tools, which MS Hwang of Counterpoint identified as a key obstacle, and potential supply chain bottlenecks.
CXMT's listing follows that of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix's $26.5 billion Nasdaq listing earlier in the month. The company aims to use the IPO capital to expand production lines and advance its DRAM technology, playing a critical role in China's AI initiatives amidst U.S. restrictions on high-bandwidth memory chips.
