The South Korean company SK hynix remains the leading supplier of HBM class memory, which allowed it to not only increase revenue by 75% to $13.7 billion in the last quarter, but also increase operating profit by 23 times to $5.6 billion. This allowed SK hynix to in history, surpass Samsung Electronics in operating profit, which remains the largest memory manufacturer.
Image Source: SK Hynix
On a sequential basis, SK hynix’s revenue rose 12% and operating profit increased 15% to a record $5.6 billion. Analysts’ revenue expectations were higher, but operating profit beat forecasts. By the way, this did not help the stock price of SK hynix, which fell by about 3% after the publication of the report, as investors were upset by forecasts for demand for memory chips in the smartphone and PC segments. In the current quarter, shipments of DRAM and NAND chips will decline sequentially by 10 to 20%. In addition, representatives of SK hynix do not expect the situation with demand for memory in these segments to improve before the second half of this year. By then, it is expected that there will be a demand for devices with artificial intelligence functions. In the meantime, the PC and smartphone market is still experiencing a correction in inventory. Geopolitical factors and the desire of the authorities of some countries for trade protectionism add to the uncertainty in the forecasts for the current year.
At the same time, since the beginning of this year, the SK hynix share price has increased by 30%, so the publication of quarterly reports caused a slight correction. The company’s revenue from DRAM sales in the last quarter was determined by 40% from sales of HBM chips. This year, the manufacturer intends to at least double HBM sales volumes. At the same time, due to the rapid growth in demand, there will remain a shortage of memory of this type. SK hynix’s capital expenditures are set to rise slightly this year, as it is poised to spend $15 billion to expand its South Korean operations and $3.9 billion to build a memory packaging plant and research center in the United States.
The company will begin supplying HBM4 in a 16-tier version in the second half of next year, but is already negotiating with potential customers. Chinese competitors, according to SK hynix representatives, will have problems developing advanced memory due to US export restrictions. The company already started shipping 12-tier HBM3E chips last quarter. SK hynix management will have a clearer idea of the market needs for HBM memory for 2026 in the current half of the year.