SK Hynix's Profit Surges by 557% but Still Misses Expectations, Revenue and Profit Below Forecast Raise Concerns About AI Demand

July 29th, SK Hynix announced its second-quarter 2026 financial report, with operating profit increasing by 557% year-on-year to 60.5 trillion South Korean won, reaching a historical high but below the market's expectation of 64 trillion won; revenue was 79 trillion won, also falling short of the expected 84 trillion won. Following the financial report, the company's stock price fell more than 9% in after-hours trading.

As a key supplier of NVIDIA's HBM core, SK Hynix stated that the demand for AI remains strong and expects the global memory chip supply shortage to continue until after 2030. The company has signed long-term supply agreements with around 10 customers and is actively progressing with the mass production and sampling of HBM4 and HBM4E products. This year's capital expenditure is expected to reach 40 trillion won, further expanding AI memory chip capacity.

However, the market is concerned about the slowdown in memory chip price increases and the reappearance of industry cyclicality risks. Investors are watching whether the AI investment boom can be sustained and whether the current high profits have reached the peak of the semiconductor cycle. At the time of writing, SK Hynix's stock in the South Korean market has fallen by 9.61%.