SK Hynix Quarterly Revenue Tops 100 Trillion Won as HBM4 Shipments Ramp
· TexaHub · Semiconductors, Artificial Intelligence
SK hynix reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of 104.6 trillion won, up 328% year on year, and operating profit of 83.3 trillion won, an 80% operating margin. The company said memory demand is expected to exceed supply through 2030.
Record Quarter
SK hynix reported on October 28 consolidated revenue of 104.6155 trillion won for the third quarter of 2026, the first time its quarterly revenue has exceeded 100 trillion won. Revenue rose 32% from the second quarter and 328% from 24.4489 trillion won a year earlier. [1]
Operating profit reached 83.3338 trillion won, up 38% quarter on quarter and 632% year on year, for an operating margin of 80%. Net profit was 39.7756 trillion won, a net margin of 38%. The figures are preliminary and unaudited. [1]
Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected operating profit of 77.5 trillion won. Chief financial officer Kim Woo-hyun attributed the gap between operating and net profit to 32.6 trillion won in net non-operating expenses, including an 11.6 trillion won currency loss and a 22.9 trillion won loss on investment valuations. [2]
HBM4 and DRAM
The company said DRAM growth was driven by a large increase in server DDR5 sales and that HBM4 shipments began in earnest during the quarter. It expects HBM4 to surpass HBM3E in both shipment volume and revenue in the fourth quarter, and said its M15X fab will ramp to maximum capacity by the end of the year. [1]
In NAND, sales of 321-layer TLC enterprise SSDs expanded, and SK hynix said the 321-layer share of its domestic NAND capacity will exceed half in the fourth quarter. [1]
Supply Outlook and Contracts
SK hynix said memory demand is expected to exceed supply through 2030. Long-term agreements now cover 14 major customers, including global cloud service providers, and more than 50% of its 2027 to 2028 production capacity. The contracts typically run five years, with prices floating within agreed ranges. [1]
On the earnings call, the company said customers' volume requirements were more than double what it can currently supply, and that DRAM and HBM volumes through 2029 are effectively sold out. [2] Investment is expected to rise significantly next year as the first phase of the Yongin cluster enters full-scale operation, though no amount was given. [1]
Shareholder Returns
The company set a total shareholder return of about 100 trillion won for fiscal 2026, made up of at least 30 trillion won in cash dividends and at least 60 trillion won in share repurchases and cancellations. The third-quarter dividend is 20,000 won per share, including a 10,000 won special dividend that shares gains from its Kioxia investment. SK hynix also said it had discontinued its review of a potential IPO of its Solidigm subsidiary. [1]
Sources
[1] SK hynix Announces 3Q26 Financial Results — SK hynix Newsroom
[2] Chip Maker SK Hynix Posts Record Quarter as AI Memory Demand Overwhelms Supply — Decrypt