Prime Highlights
- SK Hynix delivered record quarterly and annual earnings, supported by strong demand and higher prices for memory chips.
- The company strengthened its position in the global technology supply chain as tight memory supply continued to lift performance.
Key Facts
- December-quarter revenue rose 66% year-on-year to 32.827 trillion won, while operating profit surged 137% to 19.17 trillion won.
- SK Hynix announced additional dividends of 1 trillion won, taking its total dividend payout for fiscal 2025 to 2.1 trillion won.
Background:
South Korea’s SK Hynix reported record quarterly and annual earnings on Wednesday, supported by strong demand and higher prices for memory chips. The results underline the company’s growing role in the global technology supply chain as memory shortages continue across the industry.
For the December quarter, SK Hynix posted revenue of 32.827 trillion won ($23 billion), exceeding market expectations and marking a 66 percent increase from the same period last year. Operating profit jumped 137 percent year-on-year to 19.17 trillion won, also beating analyst forecasts, according to LSEG SmartEstimates.
The company’s results were largely powered by booming demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a critical component used in AI data center servers. SK Hynix has become a major supplier of high-bandwidth memory as demand for advanced computing and data processing continues to grow worldwide.
For the full year 2025, SK Hynix reported record revenue of 97.147 trillion won, up nearly 50 percent from 2024. Annual operating profit more than doubled to 47.206 trillion won, reflecting strong pricing conditions and tight supply in the global memory market. The company said its HBM revenue alone more than doubled during the year.
“SK Hynix is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom in Asia,” said Ray Wang, an analyst at SemiAnalysis. He added that beyond advanced memory, traditional DRAM chips are also expected to remain a key earnings driver due to supply shortages and expanding margins.
Rising demand for AI-related chips has outpaced supply, leading to shortages across the memory sector. These constraints have pushed prices higher and are expected to persist into next year as chipmakers wait for new production capacity to come online.
In a move aimed at enhancing shareholder value, SK Hynix announced additional dividends of 1 trillion won, bringing its total dividend payout for fiscal 2025 to 2.1 trillion won. The company also plans to cancel treasury shares worth 12.24 trillion won.
SK Hynix’s shares rose earlier this week following reports that it had become an exclusive supplier of advanced memory chips for a new AI processor developed by Microsoft. The company will hold an earnings call with investors on Thursday, while rival Samsung Electronics is also set to announce its results.
