A visitor looks at a model of SK hynix’s high-bandwidth memory (HBM) technology in the course of the 2025 World IT Show in Seoul on April 24, 2025.
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
South Korea’s SK Hynix on Wednesday posted record quarterly revenue and profit, boosted by a powerful demand for its high bandwidth memory utilized in generative AI chipsets.
The corporate is seeking to expand production capability in 2026, with its planned supply of memory products for 2026 already sold out.
Listed below are SK Hynix’s third-quarter results versus LSEG SmartEstimates, that are weighted toward forecasts from analysts who’re more consistently accurate:
- Revenue: 24.45 trillion won ($17.13 billion) vs. 24.73 trillion won
- Operating profit: 11.38 trillion won vs. 11.39 trillion won
Revenue rose about 39% within the September quarter compared with the identical period a 12 months earlier, while operating profit surged 62%, 12 months on 12 months.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, revenue was up 10%, while operating profit grew 24%. In its earnings release, the corporate noted that the quarterly operating profit had surpassed 10 trillion won for the primary time.
Following the report, SK Hynix shares in South Korea popped 3.5%, boosting its stock rally to 210% this 12 months.
SK Hynix makes memory chips which can be used to store data and might be present in all the things from servers to consumer devices reminiscent of smartphones and laptops.
The corporate has benefited from a boom in artificial intelligence as a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory or HBM chips used to power AI data center servers.
“As demand across the memory segment has soared as a result of customers’ expanding investments in AI infrastructure, SK Hynix once more surpassed the record-high performance of the previous quarter as a result of increased sales of high value-added products,” SK Hynix said in a press release.
HBM falls into the broader category of dynamic random access memory, or DRAM — a sort of semiconductor memory used to store data and program code that might be present in PCs, workstations and servers.
The corporate said it would begin supplying its next-generation HBM4 chips in the present quarter, following negotiations with unspecified customers. The chips represent the sixth generation of HBM technology.
HBM leader
SK Hynix has set itself apart within the DRAM market by getting an early lead in HBM and establishing itself because the primary supplier to the world’s leading AI chip designer, Nvidia.
Nonetheless, its primary competitors, U.S.-based Micron and South Korean-based tech giant Samsung, have been working to catch up within the space.
Micron has already supplied Nvidia with a few of its HBM technology, while Samsung recently passed Nvidia’s qualification tests for a complicated HBM product, in response to an area report last month.
“With the innovation of AI technology, the memory market has shifted to a brand new paradigm and demand has begun to spread to all product areas,” SK Hynix Chief Financial Officer Kim Woohyun said within the earnings release.
“We’ll proceed to strengthen our AI memory leadership by responding to customer demand through market-leading products and differentiated technological capabilities,” he added.
The HBM market is anticipated to proceed to boom over the following few years to around $43 billion by 2027, giving strong earnings leverage to memory manufacturers reminiscent of SK Hynix, MS Hwang, research director at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC.
“[F]or SK Hynix to proceed generating profits, it’ll be vital for the corporate to take care of and enhance its competitive edge,” he added.
A report from Counterpoint Research earlier this month showed that SK Hynix held a number one 38% share of the DRAM market by revenue within the second quarter of the 12 months, increasing its shares after having overtaken Samsung in the primary quarter.
The report added that the worldwide HBM market grew 178% 12 months over 12 months within the second quarter, and SK Hynix dominated the space with a 64% share. Samsung will report its earnings on Thursday.
Ray Wang, research director for semiconductors, supply chain and emerging technology at Futurum Group, told CNBC that he expects SK Hynix to take care of its dominant leadership within the HBM market through next 12 months, because of its technological edge.
“The corporate is prone to sustain around 60% global HBM market share, underpinned by its position as the first supplier to key customers reminiscent of Nvidia, Google and other leading customers,” he added.
