SK hynix Surpasses Samsung in Quarterly Profit, Driven by AI Chip Demand

SK hynix's surpasses Samsung Electronics for 1st time in quarterly profit

SK Hynix headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, is seen in this Jan. 23 photo. Yonhap Chipmaking giant SK hynix has surpassed its biggest rival, Samsung Electronics Inc., for the first time ever in terms of quarterly profit, data showed Tuesday, as its robust sales of artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips pushed up its fourth-quarter figures to record highs. According to its quarterly earnings report, SK hynix posted a record 8.08 trillion won ($5.62 billion) in operating profit for the October-December period, up 15 percent from a year earlier. In comparison, Samsung Electronics estimated its fourth-quarter operating profit at 6.5 trillion won, including some 3 trillion won from the semiconductor division. The tech giant has yet to disclose its final earnings results. It marks the first time SK hynix has outperformed Samsung Electronics, whose diverse business spans home appliances, mobile devices and semiconductors, in quarterly operating profit. For the entire 2024, SK hynix's annual operating profit totaled a record 23.47 trillion won, while Samsung Electronics' chip division is forecast to earn around 15 trillion won. SK hynix's stellar performance was fueled by strong demand for premium high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips amid the generative AI boom, despite sluggish demand for conventional memory chips used in smartphones and personal computers. SK hynix has dominated the HBM market since it began providing its HBM to Nvidia Corp., whose graphic processing units (GPUs) are critical for AI computing. In the fourth quarter, HBM sales accounted for more than 40 percent of the company's DRAM sales, up from 30 percent in the previous quarter. "SK hynix has a portfolio of higher value-added products than its competitors, making it less affected by market downturns," said Ryu Young-ho, an analyst from NH Investment & Securities. Samsung Electronics, the world's No. 1 memory chipmaker, has been struggling to boost its profit as its HBM has yet to hit the global market. SK hynix, which currently supplies nearly all of its HBM shipments to Nvidia, is expected to maintain its leadership in the HBM market for some time. Earlier, the company announced its development of the 16-layer HBM3E chips in November, along with its plans to begin mass-producing the sixth-generation HBM4 in the second half of 2025, further solidifying its position in the industry. (Yonhap)

SK hynix report record-breaking Q4 earnings on rising demand for AI chips

The SK hynix logo / Korea Times file Korean chipmaking giant SK hynix said Thursday its fourth-quarter earnings hit a record high on rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, including high bandwidth memory (HBM), sharply beating market expectations. Its 2024 revenues and operating profits also broke previous records, the company said. The world's second-largest memory chipmaker said in a regulatory filing that its fourth-quarter net income reached 8 trillion won ($5.6 billion), shifting from a loss of 1.37 trillion won a year earlier. Its operating income for the October-December period shot up more than 20 times to 8.08 trillion won from 346 billion won a year ago. Its sales vaulted 74.8 percent on-year to 19.76 trillion won. The earnings beat market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 5.99 trillion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. SK hynix attributed the better-than-expected bottom line to strong demand for AI memory, solidifying its status as a world leader in HBM technology. For the entire 2024, its net income amounted to a record 19.79 trillion won, swinging from a loss of 9.13 trillion won a year earlier. Operating income also turned to the black, reaching a record 23.46 trillion from a loss of 7.73 trillion won in 2023. Its previous record of 20.8 trillion won was set in 2018 during the semiconductor super boom. Annual revenue soared 102 percent to 66.19 trillion won, exceeding the previous record of 44 trillion won set in 2022. (Yonhap)

SK Hynix profits beat Samsung's for first time on AI boom

Chipmaker SK Hynix overtook its larger rival Samsung on quarterly profit for the first time, with its lead in advanced memory chips producing robust sales that it expects to double this year as a boom in artificial intelligence data centres continues. Operating profit at SK Hynix jumped more than 20-fold year on year to Won8.1tn ($5.6bn) in the final three months of 2024, exceeding Samsung's estimated operating profit of Won6.5tn, as sales jumped 75 per cent to Won19.8tn. SK Hynix on Thursday forecast demand for its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) products to continue increasing due to surging investment in AI servers and the growing importance of processing-intensive "inference" in which models generate predictions from data. Generative AI leader OpenAI and Japan's SoftBank said on Tuesday they would launch a massive US AI infrastructure project dubbed Stargate, with plans to spend up to $500bn over four years on Big Tech infrastructure projects, easing concerns that the global AI spending spree might have peaked. HBM chips accounted for 40 per cent of SK Hynix's total Dram chip revenue in the fourth quarter. The main supplier of such chips to Nvidia forecast HBM sales would more than double this year. It began to supply its most advanced 12-layer HBM3E chips in the fourth quarter and plans to ship next-generation 16-layer HBM4 chips in the second half of next year. "We expect continued growth in SK Hynix earnings this year as AI spending is likely to continue to increase, fuelling HBM demand," said Kwak Min-jung, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities. The results were in line with analyst expectations, but the company's shares fell 1.1 per cent on Thursday as investors took profits following a surge of about 30 per cent so far this year on renewed optimism over AI spending. "The strong results highlight that HBM chips remain highly profitable, with Samsung yet to supply the chips to Nvidia," said Albert Yong, managing partner at Seoul-based hedge fund Petra Capital Management. Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said this month that Samsung, which is fighting for Nvidia's business, had to "engineer a new design" to supply HBM chips to his company, although he added that "they can do it and they are working very fast". Shares of Samsung Electronics have gained just 0.5 per cent so far this year on continued concern over its technological edge. "Huang's comments indicated that Samsung has a long way to go," said Yong. "SK Hynix remains far ahead of Samsung in the HBM segment and it will still take a long time for Samsung to catch up." Chey Tae-won, chair of parent SK Group, met Huang in Las Vegas this month to discuss ways to expand their business ties and told reporters at the Consumer Electronics Show that the company was quickening the pace of HBM development to keep up with Nvidia's demands. The company plans to slightly increase capital spending this year from about $15bn last year. In a sluggish conventional memory market, SK Hynix said it expected sales of PCs and smartphones equipped with AI to expand and the market to pick up in the second half of the year.

SK hynix becomes most profitable Korean company in Q4 2024

SK hynix's high-bandwidth memory 3e chip is displayed at the company's booth for CES 2025 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Jan. 6 (local time). Yonhap Chip maker plans to mass-produce 12-layer HBM4 chip this yearBy Nam Hyun-woo SK hynix posted multiple record highs in its 2024 earnings, boosted by the robust sales of its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips tailored specifically for artificial intelligence (AI) computing. Building on this momentum, SK hynix expressed confidence in its prowess in the HBM chip market during its earnings call, Thursday, projecting its HBM chip sales to double this year. It also announced plans to begin the mass production of its next-generation 12-layer HBM4 chip this year. SK hynix reported revenues of 66.19 trillion won ($46.06 billion) for 2024, nearly doubling from 32.77 trillion won in 2023. During the same period, its operating profit achieved a significant turnaround, reaching 23.47 trillion won, compared to an operating loss of 7.73 trillion won the previous year. The company's operating margin stood at 35 percent for 2024. The 2024 annual revenue shattered its previous record of 44.62 trillion won in 2022 by 21 trillion won, and the operating profit also outpaced the earlier high of 20.84 trillion won in 2018, when the global memory chip market was in an upcycle. On a quarterly basis, SK hynix's fourth-quarter sales stood at 19.77 trillion won, a 75 percent increase from 11.3 trillion won a year earlier, and the operating profit in the October-December period reached 8.08 trillion won, growing 2,236 percent from 346 billion won in the fourth quarter of 2023. The handsome earnings lifted SK hynix to the position of the most profitable company in Korea by quarterly operating profit, surpassing Korea's biggest firm Samsung Electronics, which anticipated earlier this month that its fourth-quarter operating profit would reach 6.5 trillion won. With its earnings, SK hynix also solidified its position as the global leader in the memory chip industry, a title it also claimed in the third quarter of 2024. Its rival, Samsung Electronics' semiconductor division, is estimated to have recorded an operating profit of around 3 trillion won for the fourth quarter of last year. "We achieved record-breaking results thanks to strong demand for AI memory chips, our industry-leading HBM technologies and a management strategy focused on profitability," the company said in a statement. "HBM continued its significant growth in the fourth quarter, accounting for over 40 percent of our total DRAM revenue, while sales of enterprise solid-state drives (eSSDs) continued to expand." SK hynix's HBM3e memory is installed in Nvidia's GB200 Grace Blackwell Superchip at the SK hynix booth for CES 2025 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Jan. 7 (local time). Korea Times photo by Nam Hyun-woo During the earnings call, the company noted that its annual HBM revenue for last year increased by more than 4.5 times compared to 2023, after it began supplying the fifth-generation 12-layer HBM3e chips to clients in the fourth quarter. "We expect over a 100 percent growth in HBM sales, driven by strong demand for customized chips such as application-specific integrated circuits," the company said. "Within the first half of this year, HBM3e will account for more than half of our HBM... And also, we believe 12-layer HBM 4 will be our flagship product in 2026, and will finish developing and mass-producing 12-layer HBM4 this year, so that we can deliver it to customers on schedule." Read MoreSK hynix to showcase 16-layer HBM3e chip at CES 2025 The sixth-generation HBM4 chip is anticipated to become the dominant force in the AI memory market, offering twice the number of data transfer channels compared to the HBM3e chip, which enables faster data transfer speeds and greater memory capacity. It is also expected to be a customized solution, tailored to meet specific workloads based on clients' needs. Leading memory chip makers -- SK hynix, Samsung Electronics and Micron -- are engaged in intense competition to secure an early lead in the HBM4 chip market, driven by the growing demand from AI processor companies like Nvidia for memory chips offering higher performance and better power efficiency. "We aim to complete the development and preparation for mass production of HBM4 in the second half of this year and begin supplying them," the company said. "The HBM4 supply will start with 12-layer chips and followed by 16-layer. The 16-layer chips are expected to be delivered in line with customer demands, likely in the second half of 2026." SK hynix's headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province / Yonhap Since the HBM4 chip is based on customized client specifications, this requires production processes available at foundries to produce the chip's base dies. Due to this, SK hynix has partnered with TSMC, the world's leading foundry, while Samsung Electronics, which operates its own memory and foundry businesses, is also advancing its development efforts aiming for mass production this year. Along with the HBM chip, SK hynix attributed a 300 percent increase in its eSSD sales last year to strong demand from data centers. SK hynix said that the growing demand for AI memory is driving a shift toward the high-end memory market, noting that earnings show that "we are capable of generating stable profits while improving our competitiveness to supply products that meet customer demands on time." "By significantly increasing the share of high-value-added products, we have developed a business model that allows us to achieve stable profits even during market downturns," SK hynix Chief Financial Officer Kim Woo-hyun said. "Going forward, we will continue to prioritize investments in profitable products, while remaining flexible and adjusting our investments based on market changes."

SK hynix reports highest-ever yearly earnings for 2024, all thanks to HBM and the AI boom

TL;DR: SK hynix reported record profits in 2024, driven by high demand for its HBM memory used in AI chips, achieving sales of 66.1 trillion won and operating profits of 23.4 trillion won. Despite the success, the labor union criticized the company for not honoring a profit-sharing agreement. The company plans to focus on sustainable growth and flexible investments. SK hynix has announced its highest-ever profits in 2024, riding off of the AI demand wave with its market-leading HBM memory. The South Korean memory giant posted its best-ever yearly earnings in 2024, with 66.1 trillion won ($46.1 billion USD or so) in sales, with revenues increased by a huge 102% thanks to huge HBM memory sales for AI chips. SK hynix celebrated the record-high milestone with distributed bonuses of 1500% worth of what it defines as base pay, which works out to around 75% of the annual salary for an employee at SK hynix. SK hynix had operating profits of 23.4 trillion won (around $16.3 billion USD or so) which beat the previous record of 20.8 trillion won (around $14.5 billion USD or so). However, SK hynix labor union isn't happy with the news, claiming that the company had discarded the prior agreement to distribute 10% of operating profits to employees. SK hynix labor union said in a statement: "We strongly condemn the company for dismissing the agreement with the labor union and unilaterally paying (smaller) incentives on Jan. 24".

SK Hynix fourth-quarter profit soars to a record high, beating expectations on AI boom

South Korea's SK Hynix, one of the world's largest memory chipmakers, posted record quarterly earnings on Thursday, supported by strong sales of high bandwidth memory (HBM) used in generative AI. Here are SK Hynix's fourth-quarter results compared with LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate: Operating profit in the October-December quarter grew 15% year over year to another record-high, as did revenue, which rose 12%. The South Korean chipmaker has benefitted from a boom in artificial intelligence servers and is a key supplier to Nvidia. "SK Hynix emphasized that with prolonged strong demand for AI memory, the company achieved [an] all-time high result through world-leading HBM technology and profitability-oriented operation," the company said in its earnings release. HBM is a type of dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, in which chips are vertically stacked to save space and reduce power consumption. The technology is often used in products such as laptops and PCs. SK Hynix, Micron Technology and Samsung Electronics are the three top manufacturers of HBM chips. The strong fourth-quarter numbers conclude a year that saw the company reach record yearly revenue, exceeding the previous high in 2022 by over 21 trillion won. Meanwhile, operating profit, beat a record set in 2018 during a "super boom" in the semiconductor industry.

Nvidia Supplier SK Hynix Posts Record Profit on AI Boom -- Update

SK Hynix reported record quarterly and annual results after stronger-than-expected earnings for the final quarter of 2024, as it continued to benefit from robust chip demand amid the artificial-intelligence boom. The South Korean memory-chip maker supplies advanced high-bandwidth-memory products to AI-chip giant Nvidia, and its market leadership has helped significantly boost profits over the past year thanks to brisk shipments of higher-end, premium HBM products. Its stock has reflected that dominance. SK Hynix's share price has risen nearly 30% so far in January, adding to the more than 20% gain in 2024 thanks to investors' continued optimism about AI and the company's central role in the industry's HBM field. The company on Thursday said its net profit, operating profit and revenue were all its best-ever quarterly and annual performances. Net profit for the October-December period was 8.006 trillion won, equivalent to $5.57 billion, it said. That compared with a loss a year ago and was 39% higher than the prior quarter. The result eclipsed analysts' estimates of 5.998 trillion won, according to a FactSet-compiled consensus. Revenue soared 75% from a year earlier, to 19.767 trillion won, while operating profit came in at 8.083 trillion won, beating bigger Korean rival Samsung Electronics' operating profit estimate of 6.500 trillion won for the fourth quarter. For the full year, the company reported net profit of 19.797 trillion won and operating profit of 23.467 trillion won as revenue doubled to 66.193 trillion won. SK Hynix began mass producing advanced 12-layer HBM3E products last year, ahead of its industry rivals Micron Technology and Samsung. The semiconductor industry is enjoying brisk demand for higher-end chips such as HBM products, which power data servers and AI applications, even as it grapples with sluggish demand for legacy chips used in personal computers and smartphones, Shinhan Securities analysts said in a recent research report. "As demand for high-bandwidth-memory products expands, SK Hynix is expected to continue its competitive edge by taking the lead in the HBM3E 12-layer market," Shinhan said. SK Hynix said Thursday that sales of HBM products increased more than four times in 2024, contributing significantly to the record performance of its DRAM business. The company said its HBM products accounted for more than 40% of its DRAM revenue in the fourth quarter, up from around 30% in the third quarter, adding that it plans to expand its HBM3E supply and develop more advanced HBM4 products "in right time" to meet customers' needs. It forecast demand for HBM products and other high-performance computing chips to continue to increase amid growing investments by big technology companies in AI servers. SK Hynix raised its fixed annual dividend by 25% to 1,500 won a share and its total cash dividend to 1 trillion won annually.

SK hynix posts record revenues and profits as AI industry drives surge in HBM3 and HBM3E demand

SK hynix this week posted record earnings, operating profits, and net income for 2024. The company managed to more than double its revenue and return to profitability mainly due to increased demand for premium types of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as HBM3/HBM3E as well as enterprise-grade SSDs. SK hynix earned ₩66.193 trillion in revenue ($46.054 billion), ₩23.467 trillion in operating profit ($16.327 billion), and ₩19.797 trillion ($13.776 billion) net profit for the whole of 2024. That compares to ₩32.765 trillion in revenue ($22.8 billion) and a net loss of ₩9.138 trillion ($6.36 billion) in 2023. The company's operating margin was 35% in 2024, up from -24% in 2023. Although the company's revenue climb slowed in the fourth quarter, which is in line with seasonality and dropping 3D NAND prices, SK hynix operating margin still increased during the quarter as it ramped up production of premium HBM3E memory. The company attributes its success to increased sales of AI memory products, including HBM3 and HBM3E for the latest accelerators like Nvidia's H100, H200, and B100/B200 as well as enterprise-grade solid-state drives that are used for AI training and inference systems. High-end AI servers tend to also contain a lot of memory, so while SK hynix did not explicitly mention high-density server-grade DDR5 chips and modules, they clearly played a role in its great results. "With significantly increased portion of high value-added products, SK hynix has built fundamental to achieve sustainable revenues and profits even in times of market correction." said Kim Woohyun, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at SK hynix. "While maintaining the profitability-first commitment, the company will make flexible investment decisions in line with market situation." Looking ahead, SK hynix expects continued growth in AI-driven markets, fueled by global investments in AI servers for training and inference. While the consumer market -- client PCs and smartphones -- is expected to slow down, AI-equipped devices will drive growth in the second half of the year. To meet this demand, SK hynix will increase HBM3E supply, develop HBM4, and transition to advanced processes for DDR5 and LPDDR5 production. For 3D NAND flash memory, the company will prioritize profitability and flexible sales strategies.

Nvidia Supplier SK Hynix Posts Record Quarterly Profit on AI Chip Demand

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea's SK Hynix on Thursday posted a record quarterly profit as the Nvidia supplier saw strong sales of advanced chips such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in generative artificial intelligence chipsets. "Demand of HBM and high-density server DRAM... will continue to increase as global big tech companies' investment in AI servers grows and AI inference technology gains importance," SK Hynix said in a statement. The world's second-biggest memory chipmaker reported an 8.1 trillion won ($5.64 billion) operating profit for the October-December quarter, up from a 346 billion won profit a year earlier. The result compared with an 8 trillion won average forecast by LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate. SK Hynix's quarterly operating profit exceeded its bigger rival Samsung Electronics' forecast December-quarter operating profit of 6.5 trillion won. Samsung's earnings encompass its chips, mobile, TV and home appliance businesses, while SK Hynix solely focuses on memory chips. SK Hynix has been increasingly outperforming rivals Samsung and U.S.-based Micron Technology in recent quarters, as it benefits the most from AI-driven appetite for high-end memory chips following its early entry and large investments in HBM chip development. SK Hynix shares have jumped about 30% so far this year on bullish sentiment driven by its business discussions with Nvidia, outperforming Samsung, whose shares rose 2% over the same period. SK Hynix's shares benefited on Tuesday from U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of private-sector investment of up to $500 billion to fund infrastructure for AI. For the conventional memory chip market, customers are expected to reduce inventory of PCs and smartphones, SK Hynix said. "Sales of PCs and smartphones equipped with AI will expand and the market situation will pick up in the second half of the year," it added. SK Hynix said its revenue for the quarter rose 75% year-on-year to 19.8 trillion won. ($1 = 1,435.1200 won) (Reporting by Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jamie Freed)

SK Hynix Posts Strong Fourth-Quarter Net Profit on AI Boom, Beating Consensus

SK Hynix posted stronger-than-expected earnings for the final quarter of 2024 as it continued to benefit from robust chip demand amid the artificial-intelligence boom. The South Korean memory-chip maker supplies advanced high-bandwidth-memory products to AI-chip giant Nvidia, and its market leadership has helped significantly boost profits over the past year thanks to brisk shipments of higher-end, premium HBM products. Net profit for the October-December period was 8.006 trillion won, equivalent to $5.57 billion, the company said Thursday. That compared with a loss a year ago and was 39% higher than the prior quarter. The result beat analysts' estimates of 5.998 trillion won, according to a FactSet-compiled consensus. Revenue for the fourth quarter rose 75% from a year earlier, to 19.767 trillion won, while operating profit came in at 8.083 trillion won. For the full year, the company reported net profit of 19.797 trillion won and operating profit of 23.467 trillion won as revenue doubled to 66.193 trillion won. Reflecting investors' continued optimism about AI and the company's central role in the industry's HBM field, the stock has risen 30% so far in January after gaining 23% in 2024.

Nvidia impact: World's second-biggest memory chipmaker from South Korea reports over 8 trillion won profit

Nvidia supplier and South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix has registered a hefty profit.South Korea's SK Hynix on Thursday posted a record quarterly profit as the Nvidia supplier saw strong sales of advanced chips such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in generative artificial intelligence chipsets, as per a report. "Demand of HBM and high-density server DRAM... will continue to increase as global big tech companies' investment in AI servers grows and AI inference technology gains importance," SK Hynix said in a statement, Reuters reported. The world's second-biggest memory chipmaker reported an 8.1 trillion won ($5.64 billion) operating profit for the October-December quarter, up from a 346 billion won profit a year earlier. The result compared with an 8 trillion won average forecast by LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate. SK Hynix's quarterly operating profit exceeded its bigger rival Samsung Electronics' forecast December-quarter operating profit of 6.5 trillion won. Samsung's earnings encompass its chips, mobile, TV and home appliance businesses, while SK Hynix solely focuses on memory chips. SK Hynix has been increasingly outperforming rivals Samsung and U.S.-based Micron Technology in recent quarters, as it benefits the most from AI-driven appetite for high-end memory chips following its early entry and large investments in HBM chip development. SK Hynix shares have jumped about 30 per cent so far this year on bullish sentiment driven by its business discussions with Nvidia, outperforming Samsung, whose shares rose 2 per cent over the same period. SK Hynix's shares benefited on Tuesday from U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of private-sector investment of up to $500 billion to fund infrastructure for AI. For the conventional memory chip market, customers are expected to reduce inventory of PCs and smartphones, SK Hynix said. "Sales of PCs and smartphones equipped with AI will expand and the market situation will pick up in the second half of the year," it added. SK Hynix said its revenue for the quarter rose 75 per cent year-on-year to 19.8 trillion won. Q1. What we know about SK Hynix? A1. SK Hynix is the world's second-biggest memory chipmaker. It's a South Korean firm. Q2. What has benefitted SK Hynix? A2. SK Hynix's quarterly operating profit exceeded its bigger rival Samsung Electronics' forecast December-quarter operating profit of 6.5 trillion won. Samsung's earnings encompass its chips, mobile, TV and home appliance businesses, while SK Hynix solely focuses on memory chips.

SK Hynix hits record $13.7B earnings but why did shares drop 2.7%?

SK Hynix, a leading South Korean memory chipmaker, reported record quarterly earnings of 19.77 trillion won ($13.7 billion) on Thursday, driven by robust sales of high bandwidth memory (HBM) utilized in generative AI chipsets. However, its shares fell by 2.7% as CFO Kim Woohyun cautioned about uncertainty in memory demand for 2025. In the quarter ended December, SK Hynix's operating profit surged to 8.08 trillion won ($5.6 billion), marking a remarkable 2,236% increase year-on-year. Revenue rose approximately 75% compared to the same period a year earlier, and on a quarter-on-quarter basis, revenue was up 12%, while operating profit grew by 15%. These results highlight the chipmaker's advantage from the AI server boom, especially as it serves as a key supplier to U.S. AI chip designer Nvidia. "With prolonged strong demand for AI memory, the company achieved [an] all-time high result through world-leading HBM technology and profitability-oriented operation," SK Hynix stated in its earnings release. HBM, a type of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), involves vertically stacked chips to optimize space and lessen power consumption. Other key players in the HBM market include Micron Technology and Samsung Electronics. The fourth-quarter results capped a year in which SK Hynix achieved record yearly revenue, surpassing its previous high in 2022 by over 21 trillion won. The operating profit also eclipsed a record set in 2018, during a semiconductor "super boom." During the earnings call, management indicated a potential slight increase in capital expenditures in 2025, notwithstanding demand uncertainties. Despite the concerns regarding 2025, SK Hynix forecasts continued sales growth for HBM and other DRAM products, driven by ongoing investments in AI servers by major tech companies and the expanding consumer market for AI-enabled PCs and smartphones, which is expected to see sales increase in the latter half of the year. Kim noted, "The memory industry is transitioning from a commodity market driven by volume and price to a customized market focused on high performance and high quality products." This year, SK Hynix anticipates DRAM demand growth in the mid to high teen percentage range, while NAND demand is projected to rise in the low teen percentage. NAND chips often accompany DRAM in PCs, servers, and smartphones. Daiwa Capital Markets analyst SK Kim described SK Hynix's fourth-quarter earnings as "quite robust," but acknowledged investor apprehensions about an adjustment period in the market. SoundHound AI surges 21%: Is this the AI stock everyone's missing? SK Hynix shares have increased by 29% so far this year, as per LSEG data. Despite the record quarterly results, the stock slipped after investors reacted to stagnant smartphone demand and uncertainties surrounding AI spending in 2025. The company achieved more than a 20-fold increase in December-quarter operating profit, eclipsing earnings from rival Samsung Electronics for the first time, yet saw a stock slide after a 30% share rally this year. SK Hynix's growth reflects a global surge in datacenter spending and its pivotal role in supplying HBM chips that Nvidia accelerators rely on for AI training. Recent developments include a $100 billion venture involving SoftBank Group, OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX to fund and construct datacenters, prompting interest in industry players like Nvidia and Arm Holdings. SK Hynix expects its HBM sales to more than double this year and announced a 25% increase in its annual dividend to 1,500 won per share. Analyst Sanjeev Rana at CLSA Securities Korea asserted that SK Hynix will benefit significantly from the Stargate project due to its substantial lead in product quality and production yields, indicating competitors will require time to catch up. The company plans to launch its advanced 16-layer HBM4 chips in the second half of 2026, ahead of Samsung and Micron Technology. HBM constituted 40% of SK Hynix's total DRAM chip revenue during the quarter. The company predicts that demand for high-end memory will continue to grow alongside investments in AI servers and increased focus on data inference. While smartphone demand remains weak, SK Hynix foresees growth in sales of AI-integrated PCs and devices later in the year. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, speaking at CES in Las Vegas, confirmed that SK Hynix is accelerating development to meet Nvidia's demand, having recently conferred with Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang about strengthening their partnership. The company has pledged approximately $15 billion for high-end chip demand in South Korea and an additional $3.9 billion for an advanced packaging facility and AI product research center in Indiana. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, SK Hynix's first-quarter sales may experience a sequential decline but should show substantial year-on-year growth. The robust 75% increase in the fourth quarter was primarily fueled by HBM chip demand. The average selling price for DRAM rose by approximately 10% sequentially in the fourth quarter, while the ASP for NAND chips decreased by about 5% sequentially. First-quarter DRAM bit shipments may reflect a low-teen percentage drop after a 5% rise in the fourth quarter, and NAND bit shipments are anticipated to decline by a high-teen percentage from the previous quarter due to seasonal weakness in non-AI application demand. Disclaimer: The content of this article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. We do not endorse any specific investment strategies or make recommendations regarding the purchase or sale of any securities.

Nvidia Partner SK Hynix Posts Record Profit Propelled by AI Boom

SK Hynix Inc. earned a record quarterly profit after the company extended its lead in memory chips used in datacenters and artificial intelligence development. Nvidia Corp.'s main supplier of high-bandwidth memory reported operating profit of 8.08 trillion won ($5.6 billion) in the December quarter, in line with the average of analyst estimates. Revenue climbed to 19.77 trillion won.

SK hynix hit by market uncertainty, despite record earnings

Shares slide at 'most profitable' company in Korea as world worries over geopolitics Market uncertainty and fears around trade protectionism are overshadowing SK hynix's latest earnings, with its shares sliding despite revenue doubling for the financial year just completed. The Korean memory chipmaker said calendar 2024 reached record highs, up 102 percent year-on-year to ₩66.19 trillion (about $46 billion) in sales. It also recorded an operating profit of ₩23.4673 trillion (about $16 billion) compared to the loss reported in 2023. Q4 revenues were up 75 percent to ₩19.767 trillion (nearly $14 billion) and operating profit jumped to ₩8.082 trillion ($5.6 billion). These results have made SK hynix the most profitable company in Korea by quarterly operating profit, according to The Korea Times, passing its rival and the country's biggest biz Samsung Electronics. All this is thanks to AI, or rather "prolonged strong demand" for AI memory, and in particular the company's High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) technology that is used in GPU accelerators such as those produced by Nvidia. Enterprise solid-state drives (eSSD) for datacenters also caused strong NAND flash demand. SK hynix was first to mass production of 12-layer HBM3E products last year, getting in ahead its rival memory industry giants Samsung and Micron Technology, while Samsung also suffered problems with its HBM3E technology. However, SK's shares dropped by as much as 4.7 percent after chief financial officer Kim Woo-hyun warned of weaker demand ahead for memory chips used in PCs and smartphones, rising competition from Chinese memory firms and growing market uncertainty. "Uncertainties exist for the memory chip market this year as trade protectionism grows and geopolitical risks deepen, while PC and smartphone companies adjust inventories," Kim told analysts on its earnings call. Among the factors causing uncertainty is the new US President, who has threatened to impose tariffs on imports, which is unsettling CIOs already struggling with budgets, especially as such tariffs might raise the cost of buying a laptop for Americans by 68 percent. This comes on top of the ongoing tech cold war between the US and China, which saw Washington apply additional measures this month to attempt to control which countries can access advanced silicon produced by American companies, while Beijing responded with its own probe into whether US subsidies for chipmakers are harming China's own industry. Despite this, SK hynix forecast that demand for HBM and high density server DRAM for high performance computing (HPC) will continue to increase as investment in AI servers continues to grow. It plans to expand HBM3E supply and develop the successor HBM4 "In time to meet customers' needs." However, the company told analysts its 2025 capital expenditure would rise only slightly from last year, according to Reuters, and this conservative capex plan fuelled market concerns about slowdown in demand. ®

Nvidia supplier SK Hynix clocks bumper Q4 profit on AI-fueled chip demand By Investing.com

Investing.com-- Nvidia supplier SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) posted a sharp increase in its fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, as the memory chip maker benefited from increased demand for high-end chips from the artificial intelligence industry. Operating profit surged 2,236% to a record-high 8.08 trillion won ($5.64 billion) in the three months to Dec 31, slightly above Reuters estimates of 8 trillion won. This was on a 75% jump in revenue to 19.77 trillion won. The company is the second-largest maker of memory chips in the world, and beat out rivals Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) and Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) in bringing advanced high-bandwith memory (HBM) chips into production over the past year. HBM chips a key component of AI processors, with SK Hynix serving as a major supplier to AI giant NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA). The company has greatly benefited from a ramp-up in AI demand over the past two years, with its investments in increased capacity and advanced chip production now bearing fruit. SK Hynix said that demand for HBM and server memory will continue to increase amid rapidly growing AI development across the globe, and that it plans to expand HBM supply to meet this demand. SK Hynix shares rose sharply this week after U.S. President Donald Trump announced $500 billion in private investment over the next four years to build new AI infrastructure in the U.S. OpenAI and SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) will lead the venture, with tech majors including Nvidia, Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Arm serving as the lead initial technology partners.

Nvidia Supplier SK Hynix Soars 102% In Revenue, But Stock Drops Despite AI Memory Boom - NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

SK hynix Inc. reported financial results for 2024, with revenues surging 102% to 66.19 trillion won ($46.34 billion), driven by explosive demand for artificial intelligence memory products. The South Korean semiconductor manufacturer, a critical supplier to Nvidia Corp. NVDA, transformed from a loss-making position in 2023 to delivering a robust net profit of 19.79 trillion won ($13.84 billion). The fourth-quarter performance highlighted the company's strategic pivot, with revenues climbing 75% year-over-year to 19.7670 trillion won ($13.7 billion) and operating profit skyrocketing 2,236% to 8.08 trillion won ($5.66 billion). High-bandwidth memory emerged as a key growth driver, representing over 40% of total DRAM revenue and underscoring the company's critical role in the AI semiconductor supply chain. CFO Kim Woohyun emphasized the company's profitability-first approach, noting "fundamental improvements" in high value-added product mix. The company plans continued investment in advanced memory technologies like HBM3E and HBM4, targeting growing demand from global technology leaders investing heavily in AI infrastructure. Financial improvements were complemented by balance sheet optimization, with cash equivalents increasing 5.2 trillion won ($3.64 billion) and debt reducing 6.8 trillion won ($4.76 billion) in 2024. SK hynix also raised its annual dividend by 25% to 1,500 won ($1.05) per share, signaling confidence in its strategic positioning. Price Action: SK Hynix stock is trading at 218,500 won ($151.97) on Thursday, down 3.10% as of 10:38 a.m. local time on the South Korea Exchange. Over the past year, the stock has surged by 55.18%, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Read Next: S&P 500 Hits Fresh Records At 6,100: Strong Earnings, Trump's AI Wager Fuel Bull Run Image via Wikimedia Commons Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs