A customer takes an image of a mannequin of SK hynix’s high-bandwidth reminiscence (HBM) know-how in the course of the 2025 World IT Present in Seoul on April 24, 2025.
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Photographs
South Korea’s SK Hynix on Thursday posted file working revenue and income within the second quarter on sustained demand for its excessive bandwidth reminiscence know-how utilized in generative AI chipsets. Its shares rose over 3% in early buying and selling.
Listed below are SK Hynix’s second-quarter outcomes in contrast with LSEG SmartEstimates, that are weighted towards forecasts from analysts who’re extra constantly correct:
- Income: 22.23 trillion gained ($16.17 billion) vs. 20.56 trillion gained
- Working revenue: 9.21 trillion gained vs. 9 trillion gained
Income rose over 35% within the June quarter in contrast with the identical interval a yr earlier, whereas working revenue rose almost 69%, yr on yr.
On a quarter-on-quarter foundation, income rose 26%, whereas working revenue jumped 24%.
SK Hynix makes reminiscence chips which might be used to retailer information and might be present in every thing from servers to client units comparable to smartphones and laptops.
The corporate stated in an announcement that it loved sturdy demand and favorable pricing situations within the first half of the yr. It added that there was a low chance of sharp demand corrections for the remainder of 2025, as a result of secure buyer stock ranges and anticipated demand from new product launches.
SK Hynix’s management in dynamic random entry reminiscence — a sort of semiconductor reminiscence generally present in PCs, workstations and servers — has challenged rival Samsung Electronics’ place within the reminiscence house.
AI Dominance
A lot of SK Hynix’s latest success on this space might be credited to its enterprise in excessive bandwidth reminiscence, or HBM — a sort of DRAM used for synthetic intelligence computing. SK Hynix has established itself as the worldwide chief in HBM, supplying purchasers comparable to U.S. AI darling Nvidia.
“Demand for AI reminiscence continued to develop, pushed by aggressive AI investments from massive tech firms,” Track Hyun-jong, president and head of the Company Heart at SK Hynix, stated within the earnings name.
The corporate expects this funding to proceed to drive wholesome demand development within the AI server market, regardless of macro uncertainty, with demand for general-purpose servers additionally anticipated to develop.
Additional improvement of AI brokers with enhanced reasoning fashions will necessitate extra high-performance reminiscence, in accordance with Track, who added that the proliferation of AI within the PC and smartphone market will enhance demand additional.
“Moreover, ongoing investments by governments and firms for fixing AI are prone to change into a brand new long run driver of AI reminiscence demand,” Track stated.
The corporate expects to double HBM gross sales for the total yr in comparison with 2024 — they contributed 77% to its second-quarter income.
As SK Hynix’s HBM gross sales rise, additionally it is planning to finish preparations for mass manufacturing of its next-generation reminiscence, HBM4, earlier than the top of this yr.
SK Hynix stated it anticipated its capital expenditure in 2025 to extend, with “proactive funding” wanted to make sure assist for its HBM prospects in 2026.
Competitors
Within the first quarter, SK Hynix’s success in HBM had seen the corporate overtake rival Samsung within the world DRAM marketplace for the primary time, in accordance with Counterpoint Analysis.
A report from Counterpoint Analysis earlier this month discovered that SK Hynix had tied Samsung’s mixed DRAM and NAND revenues within the second quarter, with each now vying for the highest place within the world reminiscence market. NAND is a sort of flash reminiscence that’s used to retailer information in varied units.
Samsung and U.S.-based reminiscence maker Micron Expertise are each looking for to catch as much as SK Hynix within the HBM house.
Micron is deploying some of its superior merchandise to be used with Nvidia and different prospects comparable to AMD. In the meantime, Samsung has reportedly been working to get the most recent model of its HBM chips licensed by Nvidia. Nevertheless, analysts anticipate SK Hynix’s dominance to persist within the short-term.
“As of now, I consider SK Hynix nonetheless holds its management within the HBM race … regardless of Samsung’s and Micron’s catch‑up efforts,” stated Ray Wang, analysis director of semiconductors, provide chain and rising know-how at The Futurum Group.
“I anticipate this edge to persist by the remainder of 2025 and lengthen into 2026,” he added.
On the earnings name, an SK Hynix consultant had additionally famous that uncertainty round U.S. tariff insurance policies led to elevated buying demand within the first half of the yr. Gross sales within the second half may very well be impacted relying on how future tariff insurance policies evolve, the corporate stated.
Amid tariff uncertainty, South Korea introduced a 33 trillion gained ($24.1 billion) assist package deal for the nation’s semiconductor trade in April, up a few quarter from a package deal dedicated final yr.
