SK Hynix Posts Record Q3 Operating Profit of 83.3 Trillion Won on AI Memory Surge, Pledges 100 Trillion Won in 2026 Shareholder Returns

SK Hynix delivered a record-breaking third quarter for the July-to-September 2026 period, reporting operating profit of 83.33 trillion won ($62.8 billion), more than seven times the year-earlier figure and well above the LSEG SmartEstimate of 76.7 trillion won. Revenue reached 104.62 trillion won ($78.9 billion), topping the 98.3 trillion won estimate and marking the first time quarterly revenue has exceeded 100 trillion won in company history. Operating margin hit a record 80%, expanding 3,300 basis points year on year, while gross margin came in at 85.7%. Net profit of 39.5 trillion won missed the consensus estimate of around 55.4 trillion won, weighed down by a roughly $24.6 billion non-operating loss that included a $17.3 billion investment-asset valuation hit and an $8.8 billion foreign-exchange loss as the Korean won strengthened.

Surging AI infrastructure demand drove sharp price gains across both memory categories. DRAM average selling prices rose in the high-20% range quarter on quarter with bit shipments up roughly 10%, while NAND average selling prices climbed in the mid-20% range quarter on quarter. Server DDR5 shipments rose more than 40% sequentially. For Q4, the company guides DRAM bit shipments to grow mid-20% versus Q3 and NAND bit shipments to rise mid-single digits. SK Hynix expects next-generation HBM4 to surpass HBM3E in both shipment and revenue share in Q4, and says 2027 HBM supply negotiations are already finalized, with the profitability gap between HBM and conventional DRAM expected to narrow meaningfully.

Looking further ahead, SK Hynix projects 2027 DRAM market demand bit growth in the mid-20% range and NAND demand bit growth in the high teens, and forecasts memory demand will outpace supply through 2030. Capital expenditure is expected to rise significantly in 2027 versus 2026. The company has signed long-term agreements with 14 major customers, including leading global cloud service providers, covering more than 50% of its 2027-2028 production capacity under standard five-year terms. Its M15X facility in Cheongju is ramping to full capacity by end-2026, and 321-layer NAND will represent more than 50% of domestic capacity in Q4. SK Hynix also paused its review of a potential pre-IPO fundraising and IPO for its U.S. NAND subsidiary Solidigm, citing market volatility and semiconductor stock weakness.

On shareholder returns, SK Hynix announced a total 2026 program of approximately 100 trillion won ($75 billion), comprising more than 30 trillion won in cash dividends and more than 60 trillion won in buybacks and cancellations. For Q3 alone the company declared a dividend of roughly 20,000 won per share, including a special dividend of 10,000 won per share funded by realized gains on its Kioxia investment, with the total Q3 dividend payout standing at 14 trillion won. A further 20 trillion won share buyback was announced. Shares rose approximately 2.4% in the immediate wake of the earnings release, and broader tech and memory stocks, including Micron, gained on the results as confidence in AI-driven demand strengthened.