SK hynix Posts Record Revenue of 104.6155 Trillion Won in Third Quarter
Key Facts
SK hynix reported revenue of 104.6155 trillion won in the third quarter of 2026, surpassing the 100 trillion won mark for the first time in its history, alongside operating profit of 83.3338 trillion won and net profit of 39.7756 trillion won. In its earnings statement, the company said rising demand for AI memory lifted prices for key products, while the competitiveness of its high-value-added products supported performance. Revenue rose 32% and operating profit 38% from the second quarter, when the company recorded 79.3187 trillion won in revenue and 60.5426 trillion won in operating profit. Year on year, revenue jumped 328%, operating profit 632% and net profit 216%. The results reflect strong business expansion, alongside a clear difference between the annual and quarterly comparisons for net profit.
Operating margin was 80% in the third quarter, compared with 76% in the second quarter and 47% in the same period of 2025, according to company data. SK hynix reported net profit below the 93.9226 trillion won recorded in the previous quarter, a 58% quarterly decline, despite a 216% year-on-year increase from 12.5975 trillion won. Revenue rose from 24.4489 trillion won in the third quarter of 2025 to 104.6155 trillion won in the third quarter of 2026. Operating profit also climbed from 11.3834 trillion won to 83.3338 trillion won over the same period. These comparisons show that sharp annual expansion coincided with a quarterly decline in net profit, while operating margin rose above both comparison periods.
SK hynix said DRAM results benefited from a sharp increase in sales of server-specific DDR5 memory, and that HBM4 shipments began at scale during the quarter. In NAND, sales expanded for enterprise SSDs based on 321-layer TLC technology. The company linked higher prices for key products to increased demand for AI memory, as it expanded sales of server products and high-bandwidth memory. In its statement, it said, "Prices of key products rose against the backdrop of growing demand for AI memory." The company’s explanation of its record quarterly results centers on this mix of specialized products and server sales.
The company forecast that HBM4 would surpass HBM3E in shipment volume and revenue in the fourth quarter and become the dominant product. It also aims to ramp production at its M15X facility to full capacity by year-end, according to its earnings statement. SK hynix expects the supply-demand imbalance in the memory market to continue through 2030, citing the difficulty of advanced manufacturing technologies and the long lead time required to build new facilities. The company said it expects "a structure in which demand continues to exceed supply through 2030." This outlook makes the industry’s ability to expand production a key factor in meeting demand, while the company’s fourth-quarter forecast puts HBM4 among the near-term indicators to watch.
On production planning, SK hynix said it had signed long-term agreements with 14 major customers, and that secured sales volumes cover more than 50% of its total production capacity for 2027 and 2028. The agreements give the company visibility into part of future demand, alongside its expectation that memory supply will remain tight through 2030. It also announced shareholder returns of about 100 trillion won during fiscal 2026, including cash dividends of at least 30 trillion won and share repurchases and cancellations of at least 60 trillion won. The company said the returns package combines cash dividends with share repurchases and cancellations. It ended the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of 114.5 trillion won, up 26.5 trillion from the end of the second quarter, while net cash stood at 98.7 trillion won.
In the market, SK hynix closed at $162.09 on October 29, after $164.7 in the previous session, according to EL7 data. In Friday morning trading on October 30, the Kospi index fell 5.4% as shares of SK hynix and Samsung Electronics declined, according to the Associated Press. That followed Thursday’s session, when the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4% and the S&P 500 declined 0.3%. Alphabet Class A shares also fell 12.6% on Wall Street on Thursday, their worst day since the stock began trading more than 20 years ago, according to AP. SK hynix’s results and outlook helped ease market concerns about a slowdown in AI chip earnings, Reuters reported, while the company said its DRAM and HBM chips were sold out through 2029.