Overview
- SK Hynix reported a third-quarter operating profit of about €56 billion, more than seven times the year-earlier figure and well above market expectations.
- The company's market value sits near €660 billion and its shares rose modestly on the results as investor enthusiasm that surged in 2025 has since cooled.
- Demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), a fast type of memory used for large AI models and data centers, is the key driver of SK Hynix’s gains and underpins long-term customer contracts with firms like Nvidia.
- South Korea’s central bank says the chip industry accounted for roughly half of recent GDP growth, highlighting the sector’s outsized role in the national economy.
- SK Hynix expects demand to outstrip supply through 2030, a projection that supports plans for bigger shareholder payouts now and could keep prices high and supply tight for AI infrastructure buyers.