Key facts
- SK hynix is expected to report a record operating profit of 64.1 trillion won ($43.7 billion) for the second quarter.
- The company's projected sales for the April-June period are 84.1 trillion won.
- This projected operating profit would surpass the company's previous annual record of 47.2 trillion won in 2025.
- The operating profit margin is forecast to be around 75-77 percent for the quarter.
- Demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) and solid-state drives (SSDs) for AI data centers is a key driver.
SK hynix Inc. is anticipated to report an all-time high operating profit of 64.1 trillion won ($43.7 billion) for the second quarter, according to a report. This projection, compiled from forecasts by 14 brokerages, also estimates sales at 84.1 trillion won for the April-June period. These figures would surpass the company's previous annual operating profit record of 47.2 trillion won set in 2025.
The company's operating profit margin is expected to reach approximately 75-77 percent, an increase from the 75 percent recorded in the first quarter. This forecast is consistent with Samsung Electronics Co.'s earlier guidance, which projected a record quarterly operating profit of 89.4 trillion won.
If SK hynix meets these projections, the combined operating profit of South Korea's two major memory chip manufacturers is expected to exceed 150 trillion won for the second quarter. Analysts attribute this strong performance to rising memory chip prices and robust demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) and solid-state drives (SSDs) essential for AI data centers.
Kim Dong-won, a researcher at KB Securities Co., noted that sales to global tech companies and AI data center operators are anticipated to constitute 70 percent of SK hynix's total revenue in the second quarter.