SK hynix Posts Record Revenue of 104.6155 Trillion Won in Third Quarter
Key Facts
SK hynix announced record preliminary results for the third quarter of 2026 on October 28, with revenue of 104.6155 trillion won and operating profit of 83.3338 trillion won, as revenue topped 100 trillion won for the first time. Net profit was 39.7756 trillion won, with an operating margin of 80% and a net margin of 38%. The company said an independent auditor’s review had not yet been completed and the figures could change during the audit. The results come as demand for AI-related memory expands, which the company linked to higher prices for its key products. Operating profit also exceeded Bloomberg’s estimate of 77.5 trillion won, according to Investing.com, citing Reuters.
Revenue rose 32% from the second quarter and operating profit increased 38%, but net profit fell 58% from the previous quarter. Year over year, revenue surged 328% and operating profit 632%, while net profit rose 216%. These comparisons show revenue and operating profit growth coinciding with a quarterly decline in net profit. SK hynix attributed the results to growing demand for AI memory and higher prices for key products. The company added that sales of DDR5 servers increased, HBM4 shipments had begun “in earnest,” and sales of 321-layer TLC-based eSSDs expanded.
The company strengthened its liquidity during the quarter, with cash and cash equivalents reaching 114.5 trillion won at quarter-end, up 26.5 trillion won from the end of the previous quarter. Loans fell 2.8 trillion won to 15.8 trillion won, lifting net cash to 98.7 trillion won. This coincided with the announcement of a third-quarter dividend of 20,000 won per share. The dividend comprises 10,000 won reflecting improved earnings and an additional 10,000 won in special dividends. The company said the special dividend is linked to gains from its investment in Kioxia.
SK hynix tied its production plans to demand it expects to persist, saying the supply-demand imbalance could continue through 2030. It attributed this outlook to the difficulty of manufacturing advanced processes and the long time required to build new production facilities. The company plans to raise capacity at its M15X plant to the maximum by the end of 2026 to support HBM4 production. It expects this generation to surpass HBM3E in shipment volume and revenue in the fourth quarter and to become the main product that quarter. The company said HBM4 shipments had already begun, but its expected outperformance of HBM3E remains a future plan that has not yet been realized.
The company said it had signed long-term supply agreements with 14 major customers, including global cloud service providers, and that these contracts typically run for five years. Agreements signed to date cover more than 50% of production capacity for 2027 and 2028. On shareholder returns, SK hynix is targeting total returns of about 100 trillion won in fiscal 2026, including cash dividends of at least 30 trillion won and share buybacks and cancellations totaling at least 60 trillion won. It said it completed the previous week a 40 trillion won share buyback announced in August and would cancel the shares soon. The board also decided on a 20 trillion won buyback for the third quarter; 10 trillion won of it will be canceled, while the remainder will be allocated to employee compensation.
Micron’s results show memory-market growth extending beyond Korea. The company reported on September 30 record revenue of $54.229 billion in its fourth fiscal quarter of 2026, compared with $41.456 billion in the previous quarter and $11.315 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. Fiscal-year revenue was $133.188 billion, up from $37.378 billion the prior year. Its chief executive, Sanjay Mehrotra, said: “We expect a stronger fiscal 2027,” pointing to increased investment in technology, products and manufacturing. In markets, the KOSPI closed up 6.8% at 6,023.73 on October 28, and SK hynix shares rose 11.4% to their highest level in two weeks. Samsung Electronics and Kioxia shares gained 9.1% and 9.6%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite had risen 1.2% in the October 27 session.
The Associated Press said gains in AI shares supported markets despite investor concerns about rising borrowing costs for companies building data centers and buying more chips. SK hynix halted its review of a public listing for Solidigm after concluding that financial-market conditions and other factors made proceeding with an offering now unsuitable for achieving the desired outcome. Its chief executive said: “We therefore decided to halt our review.” Samsung Electronics was scheduled to report third-quarter results on Thursday, and Kioxia was due to release its earnings report on Friday, according to AP on October 28. Those dates follow a rise in Korean memory companies’ shares on the day SK hynix announced its results. The next two companies’ results will be the sector’s latest disclosures after the company’s record quarterly figures.