AI-assisted research analysis by FutureKnowledge. Sources checked 28 October 2026. This is not investment advice.
Reviewed by FutureKnowledge: figures, dates and attributions were checked against the linked sources before publication.
SK hynix reported third-quarter operating profit of 83.3 trillion won, up 632% from a year earlier, on revenue of 104.6 trillion won, according to the company’s results release on 28 October. The South Korean memory maker’s operating margin reached 80%, and it said demand for its chips will outrun supply until 2030.
SK hynix Q3 results: the numbers
The figures are preliminary and still subject to audit, the release says. In dollar terms, revenue was about $78.7 billion and operating profit about $62.7 billion, Yahoo Finance reported; The Korea Times put operating profit at $62.8 billion. The small gap comes from exchange-rate conversion.
| Measure (Q3 2026) | Figure | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 104.6 trillion won | +32% q/q, +328% y/y |
| Operating profit | 83.3 trillion won | +38% q/q, +632% y/y |
| Operating margin | 80% | 76% in Q2; 47% a year earlier |
| Net profit | 39.8 trillion won | −58% q/q, +216% y/y |
| Net cash | 98.7 trillion won | Cash 114.5tn, borrowings 15.8tn |
Source: SK hynix, also reported by Stock Titan.
Net profit fell from the previous quarter even as operating profit rose. According to the earnings call transcript published by Investing.com, the company booked 11.6 trillion won in foreign-exchange losses and 22.9 trillion won in investment valuation losses below the operating line.
On operating profit, SK hynix now ranks third among the world’s big technology companies, behind Samsung Electronics (107.4 trillion won) and Nvidia ($63.7 billion), and ahead of Apple ($50.9 billion), the Seoul Economic Daily calculated. Its margin was second only to rival Micron’s 80.7% in that comparison.
Why SK hynix profits jumped
AI demand for high-bandwidth memory
The main driver is high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the stacked DRAM chips that sit beside AI processors in data-centre accelerators. SK hynix began full mass production and shipments of its newest HBM4 chips in the third quarter, and management said yields were ahead of plan, according to Investing.com’s transcript. The company expects HBM4 to overtake the older HBM3E in both shipments and revenue in the fourth quarter.
Shortages and long-term contracts
Because AI chips absorb so much DRAM production, prices for ordinary memory have also risen. The Korea Times reported that HBM and other DRAM products are sold out through 2029. SK hynix said long-term agreements with 14 major customers now cover more than half of its 2027–2028 production capacity, and that demand should exceed supply through 2030 because leading-edge processes are difficult and new factories take years to build. Chief financial officer Kim Woo-hyun said near-term customer volume requests would be hard to meet in full, according to the transcript.
Guidance for the next quarter
The company guided for fourth-quarter DRAM shipments to rise by the mid-20% range from the third quarter, and NAND bit shipments by the mid-single digits. It expects 2027 demand growth in the mid-20% range for DRAM and high-teens for NAND, and said capital spending will rise significantly next year as the first phase of its Yongin site starts full operation.
A $75 billion shareholder payout
SK hynix plans to return about 100 trillion won, roughly $75 billion according to The Korea Times, to shareholders for 2026. The release breaks this down as:
- at least 30 trillion won in cash dividends, including a third-quarter payout of 14 trillion won, or 20,000 won a share (half regular, half a special dividend from gains on its Kioxia investment);
- at least 60 trillion won in buybacks and cancellations, including a 40 trillion won programme completed last week;
- a new 20 trillion won buyback, of which about 10 trillion won will be cancelled and about 10 trillion won used for employee pay, which is excluded from the shareholder total.
The company says this meets its commitment to return at least half of free cash flow.
Share reaction
SK hynix shares jumped 10.89% in Seoul on Wednesday, The Korea Times reported, recovering part of an 18.8% fall between 1 September and 27 October. Its US-listed shares rose about 8% in premarket trading, according to Yahoo Finance. The earlier slide came during a broad sell-off in chip stocks, which we covered when chip stocks posted their longest losing streak since 2008.
How it affects India and other businesses
For companies that buy memory rather than make it, SK hynix’s outlook signals that tight supply and high prices could last for years. That matters for makers of phones, laptops, servers and cars, many of which have already flagged rising chip costs. General Motors, for example, warned that metal and memory-chip costs cloud its 2027 outlook.
India’s electronics assembly industry relies largely on imported memory chips, so higher memory prices tend to raise costs for domestic phone and PC assemblers and for data-centre builders. Companies with long-term supply contracts or the ability to pass on costs are generally better placed than smaller assemblers buying on the spot market.
Who is more or less exposed
- Likely beneficiaries: memory makers and their equipment and materials suppliers, while the shortage lasts.
- More exposed: device makers and car makers with thin margins, and cloud and AI builders paying more per server.
- Mixed: AI chip designers, which need steady HBM supply but face higher component costs.
Scenarios to watch
These are conditional scenarios, not predictions.
| If… | Then it could mean… |
|---|---|
| HBM4 overtakes HBM3E in Q4 as guided | Supports SK hynix’s pricing and margin outlook into 2027 |
| AI data-centre spending slows | Memory prices could ease faster than the 2030 shortage view implies |
| Rivals add capacity faster than expected | More supply could pressure margins from very high levels |
| Memory prices stay high through 2027 | Continued cost pressure on device makers, including Indian assemblers |
What to watch next
- Samsung Electronics’ and Micron’s next updates on HBM supply and pricing.
- The final audited figures, and the size of SK hynix’s 2027 capital spending plan.
- Results from AI chip buyers such as Nvidia for signs of continued demand.
Bottom line
SK hynix’s third quarter shows how far the AI build-out has shifted profits towards memory makers: an 80% operating margin and a $75 billion payout plan. The flip side is a long period of tight supply and higher memory costs for everyone who has to buy those chips.
Method note: We checked the results and shareholder return figures against SK hynix’s 28 October release, and compared reporting from The Korea Times, the Seoul Economic Daily, Yahoo Finance, Stock Titan and Investing.com’s earnings call transcript. Dollar conversions differ slightly by source and are attributed.