SK Hynix: record net profit in the second quarter, but shares plummet in Seoul

Revenue and operating profit below expectations

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Record profits that beat expectations but are not enough to satisfy the market and do little to allay fears about the sustainability of AI investments. The quarterly results from South Korean chip giant SK Hynix are a mixed bag, and the share price continues to weigh on the Seoul Stock Exchange (it fell by over 18% at one point and is now down 10%, whilst the Kospi index is down 6.4%).

In the quarter ending in June, net profit rose to a record high of 93,923 billion won (64.6 billion dollars), more than thirteen times higher than a year earlier and well above the FactSet consensus estimate of 50,785 billion won. Revenue more than tripled to 79,319 billion won, whilst operating profit increased more than sixfold to 60,543 billion won. Both figures represent new records, but still fell short of analysts’ expectations, which stood at 84,170 billion and 64,311 billion won respectively. In the first six months of the year, the group – which is one of Nvidia’s main suppliers – recorded revenue that exceeded the 100,000 billion won mark for the first time. Net profit in June stood at 88,000 billion won; the target is to exceed 100,000 billion won, and the market is wondering how the cash will be deployed.

The South Korean company has confirmed a positive outlook for the second half of 2026, thanks to a market characterised by limited supply and strong demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence; during the conference call, management stated that the strong demand for memory chips could continue for several years. SK Hynix also reiterated that capital expenditure will reach the upper end of its guidance of 40,000 billion won for 2026 – up from around 30,000 billion won in 2025 – in order to continue expanding production capacity.

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