SK hynix profit surges as AI-memory demand drives record quarter

SK hynix reported a more than sevenfold jump in third-quarter operating profit on Wednesday, as demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in artificial-intelligence systems pushed quarterly revenue above 100 trillion won for the first time.

Record results and a tightening memory market

The South Korean chipmaker said operating profit reached 83.3338 trillion won in the July-September quarter, up from 11.4 trillion won a year earlier. Revenue was 104.6155 trillion won, compared with 76.7 trillion won expected by analysts polled in the LSEG SmartEstimate cited by Reuters. SK hynix reported net profit of 39.7756 trillion won.

The company said server DDR5 sales increased and HBM4 shipments began in earnest. It expects HBM4 to exceed HBM3E in both shipment volume and revenue in the fourth quarter. SK hynix also said long-term agreements with 14 major customers, including global cloud-service providers, cover more than half of its production capacity for 2027 and 2028.

Supply may remain below demand through 2030

SK hynix forecasts that the memory-supply shortage will persist through 2030 because advanced manufacturing is technically difficult and new facilities take years to build. The company said HBM and DRAM were sold out through 2029, with HBM demand about twice current supply. Those are company forecasts, not independently verified market estimates.

Reuters reported that SK hynix’s shares rose as much as 9.4% in morning trading; that move was not a closing price. The company plans to ramp its M15X facility to maximum capacity by year-end and expand next year as its Yongin Phase 1 project enters full-scale operation.

Shareholder returns to approach 100 trillion won

SK hynix said it will execute approximately 100 trillion won in shareholder returns during 2026, including more than 30 trillion won in cash dividends and at least 60 trillion won in share repurchases and cancellations. The plan includes most of the gain from its investment in Kioxia.

The board approved a third-quarter cash dividend of 14 trillion won, or 20,000 won per share, including a 10,000-won special dividend, and a 20 trillion won share repurchase. Of that repurchase, 10 trillion won will be cancelled for shareholders; the other 10 trillion won is earmarked for employee compensation and is excluded from the shareholder-return total.

Sources

• Reuters: SK hynix Q3 profit jumps more than seven-fold and beats forecasts
• SK hynix: 3Q26 financial results