SK Hynix third-quarter profit sharply beats estimates on AI memory boost

SK Hynix Inc. signage at the company's office in Seongnam, South Korea, on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.

SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images

South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix on Wednesday released its third-quarter earnings results, posting a record high quarterly profit that sharply beats estimates, while announcing over $25 billion in dividends and buybacks.

Here are SK Hynix's third-quarter results compared with LSEG SmartEstimates, which are weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate:

• Revenue: 104.62 trillion won ($78.86 billion) vs. 98.34 trillion won expected
• Operating profit: 83.33 trillion won vs. 76.72 trillion won expected

Revenue rose 327.9% from a year earlier, while operating profit climbed 632.1% year on year.

Compared with the previous quarter, revenue climbed 31.9%, while operating profit surged 37.6%.

SK Hynix posted record quarterly revenue and operating profit, with sales exceeding 100 trillion won for the first time, as it announced plans to return about 100 trillion won to shareholders — including at least 30 trillion won in cash dividends and 60 trillion won in share buybacks and cancellations. 

The chipmaker approved a third-quarter dividend of 14 trillion won, including a special dividend funded by gains from its investment in Kioxia. The company will also buyback 20 trillion won in shares, half of which will be cancelled this year.

SK Hynix expects HBM4 to surpass HBM3E in both shipments and revenue in the fourth quarter, as it ramps up production at its M15X facility in Cheongju, South Korea.

HBM, or high-bandwidth memory, is a type of advanced memory used alongside AI processors to handle large amounts of data. HBM4 is the sixth generation of the technology.

The company has secured long-term agreements with 14 major customers covering more than 50% of its production capacity for 2027 and 2028.

It expects memory demand to outpace supply through 2030 and plans to significantly increase investment next year.