CXMT Jumps 466% in Shanghai Debut, Tops ICBC Valuation
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- CXMT shares surged ~466% on their STAR Market debut, closing at 49 yuan and giving the Hefei-based firm a 3.3 trillion yuan market cap that overtook ICBC's 2.6 trillion yuan, making it China's most valuable listed company.
- The chipmaker raised 57.92 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) by pricing its IPO at 8.66 yuan per share, making it Asia's biggest IPO so far in 2025.
- CXMT held a 7.67% share of the global DRAM market in Q4 2025 per its prospectus, positioning it as a challenger to the Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron trio that dominates the sector.
- CXMT swung to a 35.43 billion yuan operating profit in Q1 from a 2.83 billion yuan loss a year earlier, attributing the turnaround to global computing power demand.
- Apple has reportedly begun testing CXMT's DRAM chips for devices sold in China, according to earlier-month reports cited in the article.
- Morningstar said CXMT will likely be a key beneficiary as AI becomes a national security issue for China, though its technology still lags global memory leaders.
- Theodore Shou, CEO of Yiyi Capital, warned the market is 'right at the peak of a demand and supply imbalance' and that current memory-chip margins 'are not sustainable,' citing limited free float and sentiment as key drivers of the surge.
Why it matters: CXMT's $8.6 billion raise and 3.3 trillion yuan valuation crystallize Beijing's push for semiconductor self-sufficiency, with Morningstar framing AI as a national security imperative that will funnel Chinese demand to CXMT despite its technology gap with Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. Yet Yiyi Capital's Shou cautioned that current memory-chip margins 'are not sustainable,' meaning the debut's premium reflects limited free float and sentiment more than durable competitive positioning.
