Seoul: SK hynix Inc. reported an unprecedented third-quarter operating profit exceeding 10 trillion won (US$6.97 billion), driven by strong performance in the high bandwidth memory (HBM) sector, a crucial component for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The South Korean chipmaker achieved an operating profit of 11.38 trillion won between July and September, a significant increase from 7.02 trillion won the previous year, as per the company’s regulatory filing.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this marks the first instance of SK hynix posting a quarterly operating profit above 10 trillion won. The company’s net profit for the July-September period reached 12.59 trillion won, more than doubling from the previous year. Revenue also saw a significant rise, increasing by 39.1 percent to 24.44 trillion won during the same period.
The earnings results surpassed market expectations, with analysts previously estimating a net profit of 8.84 trillion won according to a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data arm of Yonhap News Agency. SK hynix attributed this growth to rising global prices for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and NAND flash, along with heightened demand for high-end products in the AI server industry.
SK hynix acknowledged its success in surpassing previous records due to increased sales of high value-added products such as 12-high HBM3E and DDR5 for servers. The company highlighted the surge in demand for AI servers, noting that shipments of high-capacity DDR5s of 128GB or more have more than doubled since the last quarter.
Furthermore, SK hynix shared that it has finalized discussions with key customers, including Nvidia Corp., for the supply of HBM in 2026. The development and mass production of HBM4, which started in September, meet customer performance requirements and support industry-leading speeds. Shipments of HBM4 are set to commence this year, with a full-scale expansion planned for 2026.
Kim Woo-hyun, SK hynix’s Chief Financial Officer, remarked on the transformation within the memory market due to AI technology innovation, highlighting the spread of demand across all product areas. According to Counterpoint Research data, SK hynix held a commanding 64 percent share of the global HBM market in terms of sales in the second quarter, with Micron and Samsung Electronics Co. following at 21 percent and 15 percent, respectively.