As of 10:50 AM IST, Wednesday 28 October 2026. Share and index moves are intraday figures from Seoul trading on Wednesday and may differ at the close.
SK hynix, the main supplier of high-bandwidth memory for AI chips, reported record quarterly results on Wednesday, with revenue topping 100 trillion won for the first time and operating profit up more than sevenfold. Its shares and South Korea's Kospi index jumped sharply.
Record quarter
According to the company's results release, for the third quarter of 2026:
- Revenue: 104.62 trillion won, up 328% from a year earlier and 32% from the previous quarter.
- Operating profit: 83.33 trillion won, up 632% year on year, for an operating margin of 80%.
- Net profit: 39.78 trillion won, down 58% from the second quarter.
Both revenue and operating profit beat LSEG SmartEstimates of 98.34 trillion won and 76.72 trillion won respectively, CNBC reported. The figures are preliminary and subject to audit review, the company said.
What drove it
SK hynix said sales of server DDR5 rose sharply and shipments of HBM4, the sixth generation of high-bandwidth memory, began in earnest. It expects HBM4 to overtake HBM3E in both shipments and revenue in the fourth quarter as it ramps its M15X plant to full capacity by year-end. CNBC said average DRAM selling prices rose by a high-20s percentage from the previous quarter.
The company said it has signed long-term agreements with 14 major customers, including leading cloud providers, covering more than half of its 2027 and 2028 production capacity. It expects memory demand to exceed supply through 2030 and plans to raise investment significantly next year.
Shareholder returns and Solidigm
SK hynix said it plans about 100 trillion won of shareholder returns for fiscal 2026. That includes at least 30 trillion won in cash dividends and at least 60 trillion won in buybacks and cancellations. The board approved a third-quarter dividend of 14 trillion won (20,000 won a share, half of it a special dividend from gains on its Kioxia investment) and a new 20 trillion won buyback. Media reports convert these figures differently into dollars, so HorizonDesk uses the company's won figures.
Chief executive Kwak Noh-Jung said the company had discontinued its review of an IPO for its US subsidiary Solidigm, citing recent financial market conditions.
Market reaction
Sources reported different intraday moves. CNBC said SK hynix shares rose more than 8% and the Kospi 6.25%. Bloomberg, in a markets wrap, reported SK hynix up 10% and the Kospi up 6.6%, with Samsung Electronics up 9.5% ahead of its own results on Thursday.
Related reading on HorizonDesk
- TSMC Q3 2026: record profit on AI chip demand
- Nasdaq falls 2.6% as chip stocks are routed
- Micron Taiwan union strike over AI bonus
- Meta upsizes its AI fundraising to $97.5 billion
