SK hynix posts record-high Q2 OP of $6.72bn on HBM sales surge

SK hynix posts record-high Q2 OP of $6.72bn on HBM sales surge

최초입력 2025.07.24 11:28:02

(SK hynix)

SK hynix set a new quarterly earnings record in the April–June period, fueled by rising sales of its fifth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM3E) 12-stack chips—an advanced, high-value product at the core of the AI memory boom.
In a regulatory filing on Thursday, the company reported preliminary operating profit of 9.21 trillion won ($6.72 billion), up 68.5 percent from the same period last year.
This figure surpassed the market consensus of 9.04 trillion won by 1.95 percent, according to data compiled by Yonhap Infomax.
Revenue climbed 35.4 percent year-over-year to 22.23 trillion won, and net income jumped 69.8 percent to 6.99 trillion won.
Both figures exceeded the company’s previous record set in the fourth quarter of last year, when it posted 19.77 trillion won in revenue and 8.08 trillion won in operating profit.
SK hynix’s second-quarter operating profit was also more than double that of Samsung Electronics, which had previously reported a preliminary figure of 4.6 trillion won.
The company’s operating margin stood at 41 percent, maintaining the 40-percent range following 42 percent in the prior quarter.
SK hynix explained that continued investment by global big tech companies in artificial intelligence (AI) led to steady demand growth for AI-related memory. As a result, both DRAM and NAND shipments exceeded expectations, supporting record-breaking quarterly results.
It further noted that DRAM performance was driven by expanded sales of the HBM3E 12-stack chips, while NAND sales rose across all application segments. The company attributed its strong performance to industry-leading competitiveness in AI memory and a profitability-focused management strategy.
As of the end of June, the company’s cash and cash equivalents increased by 2.7 trillion won from the previous quarter to 17 trillion won. Its debt ratio and net debt ratio also improved, falling to 25 percent and 6 percent, respectively, from 29 percent and 11 percent in the first quarter. Net debt decreased by 4.1 trillion won over the same period.
The company said that memory purchases by customers increased during the second quarter in tandem with rising finished product output, leading to stable inventory levels. It also anticipated further memory demand growth in the second half, with clients preparing to launch new products.
SK hynix projected that competition among big tech firms to enhance AI inference capabilities would continue to boost demand for high-performance, high-capacity memory. It also expected that long-term investments in sovereign AI infrastructure by various governments would emerge as a new structural growth driver.
In response, the company plans to double its HBM business this year by leveraging its HBM3E performance and mass production capacity. It also aims to maintain top-tier competitiveness by ensuring timely supply of sixth-generation HBM4 products in line with customer schedules.
It also plans to begin supplying LPDDR-based modules for servers within the year and to expand its offering of GDDR7 memory for AI GPUs from the current 16Gb to a higher-capacity 24Gb version.
SK hynix expects that this diversification of AI memory offerings will further solidify its leadership in the AI memory market.
In NAND, the company said it would continue its cautious investment approach and profitability-focused operations, while preparing for future market improvement through product development.
It plans to boost competitiveness through expanded sales of high-capacity QLC-based enterprise SSDs and by building a product portfolio centered on 321-layer NAND.
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SK hynix posts record-high Q2 OP of $6.72bn on HBM sales surge

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