SK Hynix Profit Jumps Five-Fold as AI Chip Demand Exceeds Capacity
SK Hynix posted record first-quarter profitability as demand tied to artificial intelligence lifted memory prices, with operating profit rising 405% from a year earlier to 37.6 trillion won on revenue of 52.6 trillion won. The company said demand from customers for HBM over the next three years is well above its manufacturing capacity.
On its conference call, SK Hynix said the current memory-pricing trend is not being driven by a temporary supply-demand imbalance and is unlikely to follow past cycles. It said demand is increasing across HBM, server DRAM and eSSD while suppliers cannot ramp output meaningfully in the short term, making a return to earlier oversupply problems less likely and supporting a longer upcycle in prices.
From the sources (14 posts)
@yoolimleenewsSK Hynix reported a five-fold jump in quarterly profit, underscoring the surging prices of the memory chips that underpin the boom in global artificial intelligence development
@stockmktnewzSouth Korean 🇰🇷 memory giant SK Hynix just said it brought in $35.5 Billion of revenue and $27.3 Billion of Net Profit in Q1 2026 - WSJ
@jukan05SK hynix CFO on Google TurboQuant: “Software and hardware optimization, which is actively taking place across the AI industry, is another driver of memory demand growth. Although memory-efficiency technologies may appear to reduce memory
@jukan05SK hynix conference call – View on memory pricing “We do not believe memory pricing is being driven by a temporary supply-demand imbalance, and we expect the trend to look different from past cycles. First, as AI technology advances, the
@firstsquawkSK Hynix: HBM demand from clients in the next three years is well above its manufacturing capacity
@firstsquawkSK Hynix says the memory market is unlikely to face past oversupply problems, with both suppliers and customers prioritizing long-term visibility
@jukan05SK hynix conference call – NAND-related comments Q. How are you responding to NAND demand such as for eSSD? "NAND is no longer just a simple storage device. We expect it to see long-term growth as a critical component. As AI models become
@firstsquawkSK Hynix expects to begin HBM4E sample shipments in H2 this year and aims for full-scale production in 2027
@firstsquawkSK Hynix reports sufficient supplies of helium and bromine in its inventory
@firstsquawkSK Hynix states it holds enough tungsten inventory despite rising costs
@jukan05Q: How do you view recent movements in memory spot prices? / From SK hynix’s conference call “The spot market accounts for only a very small portion of the overall DRAM market. The product mix and trading volume in the spot market are also
@ftNvidia supplier SK Hynix hails ‘structural shift’ after another record quarter
@reutersSK Hynix sets record as quarterly profit jumps five-fold, says AI chip demand exceeds capacity
@jukan05SK Hynix Set for Even Stronger Q2 — Memory Tailwinds Point to Record Profitability SK Hynix posted its highest-ever profitability in Q1, driven by an unprecedented memory supercycle. The operating margin reached 72%, placing the company am