SK Hynix delivered record third-quarter results as the global artificial-intelligence infrastructure boom drove extraordinary demand and pricing for advanced memory chips.
The South Korean semiconductor manufacturer reported 104.6 trillion won in quarterly revenue and a record 83.3 trillion won in operating profit.
Operating profit increased more than sevenfold from a year earlier and exceeded analysts’ expectations of approximately 76.7 trillion won.
High-bandwidth memory remains at the center of the expansion.
HBM is critical to AI accelerators because it allows processors to move enormous quantities of data significantly faster than conventional memory architectures.
Demand visibility now extends years into the future. SK Hynix said its HBM and DRAM products are sold out through 2029, with HBM demand running at roughly twice available supply. The company expects the broader memory shortage to persist through 2030.
SK Hynix has also signed long-term agreements with 14 major customers covering more than half of planned production capacity for 2027 and 2028.
The company paired its record earnings with a shareholder-return program worth approximately 100 trillion won, or $75 billion, including more than 30 trillion won in cash dividends and over 60 trillion won in share repurchases and cancellations.
SK Hynix shares rose as much as 9.4% following the announcement.
The results strengthen evidence that AI infrastructure spending is generating substantial profits beyond processor designers and cloud-computing companies.
The next major indicators will be HBM pricing, capital expenditure and whether long-term customer commitments continue expanding as manufacturers add production capacity.
