SK hynix 第三季收入首度突破 100 trillion won，營業利潤達 83.33 trillion won

Rendering of SK hynix’s P&T7 facility in Cheongju, South Korea. (Photo: SK hynix)

SK hynix reported quarterly revenue exceeding 100 trillion won for the first time in the third quarter of this year. The company also plans to return a total of approximately 100 trillion won to shareholders through cash dividends and share buybacks and cancellations.

SK hynix said Oct. 28 that consolidated revenue reached 104.62 trillion won in the third quarter, while operating profit totaled 83.33 trillion won. The figures represented year-on-year increases of 327.9% and 632.1%, respectively. Compared with the previous quarter, revenue rose 31.9% and operating profit increased 37.6%. Both figures slightly exceeded market consensus estimates.

The operating margin reached 79.7%, up 3.5 percentage points from the previous quarter. Net profit totaled 39.78 trillion won, an increase of 215.7% from a year earlier but a decline of 57.7% from the preceding quarter.

SK hynix attributed its DRAM performance to increased shipments of fourth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) and expanded sales of DDR5 memory for servers. The company said its NAND business also grew, driven by increased sales of 321-layer enterprise solid-state drives (eSSDs) and a greater focus on high-value-added products for data centers.

The company expanded its long-term supply agreements (LTAs), securing contracts covering more than 50% of its total production capacity for both 2027 and 2028. SK hynix has signed LTAs with 14 major customers, including large global cloud service providers (CSPs). It is also discussing extending contract durations beyond the typical five-year term.

SK hynix expects the memory supply shortage to persist through 2030. The company anticipates that increasing technical complexity in advanced manufacturing processes and the time required to build new production facilities will sustain a market structure in which demand exceeds supply.

In the fourth quarter, SK hynix plans to increase the share of its sixth-generation 10-nanometer-class 1c process in conventional DRAM production and expand sales of DDR5 and LPDDR5-based small-outline compression attached memory modules (SOCAMM) for AI servers. In NAND, it aims to raise the proportion of its flagship 321-layer products to more than half of domestic production capacity. Over the medium to long term, the company plans to expand high-bandwidth flash (HBF) and system optimization technologies.

To meet surging HBM demand, SK hynix plans to maximize production capacity at its Cheongju M15X facility by the end of the year and expand HBM4 production. The company expects HBM4 to become its mainstay product in the fourth quarter, surpassing HBM3E in both shipment volume and revenue.

Investment spending is expected to increase significantly next year as SK hynix expands infrastructure investments in South Korea and overseas, including the start of full-scale operations at its first Yongin fab.

SK hynix also plans shareholder returns totaling approximately 100 trillion won. The program includes more than 30 trillion won in cash dividends for fiscal 2026 and a total of 60 trillion won in share buybacks and cancellations, including the 40 trillion won announced in August. The company intends to fulfill its commitment to return more than 50% of free cash flow (FCF) to shareholders.

At its board meeting on Oct. 28, SK hynix approved a third-quarter cash dividend of 14 trillion won and share repurchases totaling 20 trillion won. Of the shares to be repurchased, 10 trillion won worth will be canceled as part of shareholder returns. The remaining approximately 10 trillion won will be used for employee compensation and is excluded from the shareholder return total.

The third-quarter dividend is 20,000 won per share, comprising a 10,000-won dividend reflecting improved earnings and a special dividend of 10,000 won to share the gains from its investment in Kioxia. Realized gains from the Kioxia investment will be distributed through the third-quarter dividend and the year-end dividend for this fiscal year.

SK hynix said, “We will determine dividend amounts based on operating performance, while providing additional returns through special dividends when substantial investment gains are realized. We will also continue share repurchases every quarter.”