Key facts
- CXMT's shares surged 471.6% on its Shanghai STAR Market debut on July 27.
- The company's market capitalization reached approximately $487 billion, making it China's most valuable listed company.
- The IPO raised at least $8.6 billion, the largest in STAR Market history.
- CXMT expects first-half 2026 net profit between $50 billion and $57 billion.
- CXMT holds the fourth-largest global market share in DRAM with 7.6% as of Q1 2026.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market has gained significant prominence following the blockbuster listing of Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT. The company's shares surged 471.6% on its debut on July 27, making it China's most valuable listed company with a market capitalization of approximately $487 billion. This valuation surpasses that of U.S. chipmaker Intel and networking equipment maker Cisco.
CXMT's initial public offering raised at least $8.6 billion, making it the largest listing in the history of the STAR Market. The company's strong financial performance is attributed to the global AI boom, which has fueled a sharp rise in memory prices. CXMT expects first-half 2026 net profit to reach between $50 billion and $57 billion, a dramatic turnaround from a net loss a year earlier. The company has also secured a five-year supply agreement worth over $7 billion with ByteDance, TikTok's parent company.
Despite its rapid growth, CXMT remains a significant player in China's drive for self-sufficiency in advanced technologies, particularly in the face of U.S. export controls that restrict access to advanced chipmaking tools. While CXMT ranked fourth globally in DRAM suppliers by revenue in Q1 2026 with a 7.6% market share, it is still smaller than dominant players like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. Experts note that trade restrictions on tools remain a key challenge for CXMT's scaling efforts, and some U.S. lawmakers have called for blocking American companies from purchasing CXMT's memory chips due to national security concerns.
CXMT's success on the STAR Market underscores the growing role of China's state-led industrial strategy in the global technology race, particularly in the semiconductor sector.