Strong AI Memory Demand Pushes SK Hynix Q1 Profit Up 4x to Record High
SK Hynix reported a record Q1 operating profit, surging 4x YoY due to explosive demand for AI memory chips. The company expects the AI chip shortage to continue, dispelling market concerns.
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- 📰 Published: April 23, 2026 at 13:34
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 14:01 (27 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 23, 2026 at 16:13 (2h 11m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(CNA, Seoul, 23rd, Composite Foreign Report) South Korea's SK Hynix released its financial report today, showing Q1 operating profit surging 4 times year-on-year to a record high. The company expects AI chips to remain in short supply, dispelling market concerns about a slowdown in AI investments by major tech companies.
According to SK Hynix's financial report, operating profit from January to March this year was 37.6 trillion won (about 849.8 billion NTD), compared to 7.4 trillion won (about 167.3 billion NTD) in the same period last year. Q1 revenue jumped 198% year-on-year to 52.6 trillion won (about 1.1888 trillion NTD).
As reported by Reuters, the operational outlook provided by SK Hynix, a supplier for tech giant Nvidia, indicates that momentum for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips used in AI chipsets remains strong. This will keep market supply tight and prices high.
Kim Ki-tae, head of the HBM Business and Marketing Department, said at an earnings call: "Customer demand for (HBM) chip supply over the next three years has already far exceeded our capacity."
SK Hynix is the world's second-largest memory chip maker, trailing only Samsung Electronics.
SK Hynix pointed out that the impact of the Middle East war is limited because they have prepared inventories of key chemicals and diversified suppliers. At the same time, they secured energy supplies through long-term contracts, minimizing the impact of price volatility.
Data from the research firm TrendForce shows that contract prices for some dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips soared nearly 83% in Q1 compared to the previous quarter, while prices for some NAND Flash products skyrocketed by about 160%. As tech companies race to buy AI infrastructure chips, prices are expected to continue rising this quarter, and strong profit growth is anticipated in Q2.
Analysts say the pace of price increases might begin to slow after the second quarter, but tight supply will persist until new capacity comes online.
SK Hynix stated that because AI-driven demand has offset weak demand from PC and smartphone makers, the favorable pricing environment is expected to continue for a "short time." (Compiled by Chang Ming-hsuan) 1150423
(CNA, Seoul, 23rd, Composite Foreign Report) South Korea's SK Hynix released its financial report today, showing Q1 operating profit surging 4 times year-on-year to a record high. The company expects AI chips to remain in short supply, dispelling market concerns about a slowdown in AI investments by major tech companies.
According to SK Hynix's financial report, operating profit from January to March this year was 37.6 trillion won (about 849.8 billion NTD), compared to 7.4 trillion won (about 167.3 billion NTD) in the same period last year. Q1 revenue jumped 198% year-on-year to 52.6 trillion won (about 1.1888 trillion NTD).
As reported by Reuters, the operational outlook provided by SK Hynix, a supplier for tech giant Nvidia, indicates that momentum for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips used in AI chipsets remains strong. This will keep market supply tight and prices high.
Kim Ki-tae, head of the HBM Business and Marketing Department, said at an earnings call: "Customer demand for (HBM) chip supply over the next three years has already far exceeded our capacity."
SK Hynix is the world's second-largest memory chip maker, trailing only Samsung Electronics.
SK Hynix pointed out that the impact of the Middle East war is limited because they have prepared inventories of key chemicals and diversified suppliers. At the same time, they secured energy supplies through long-term contracts, minimizing the impact of price volatility.
Data from the research firm TrendForce shows that contract prices for some dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips soared nearly 83% in Q1 compared to the previous quarter, while prices for some NAND Flash products skyrocketed by about 160%. As tech companies race to buy AI infrastructure chips, prices are expected to continue rising this quarter, and strong profit growth is anticipated in Q2.
Analysts say the pace of price increases might begin to slow after the second quarter, but tight supply will persist until new capacity comes online.
SK Hynix stated that because AI-driven demand has offset weak demand from PC and smartphone makers, the favorable pricing environment is expected to continue for a "short time." (Compiled by Chang Ming-hsuan) 1150423