SK Hynix Q1 profit surges on AI memory demand

SK Hynix reported a more than 400% jump in operating profit to $25.4 billion and a 198% rise in revenue to $35.55 billion for the March quarter. The company said strong demand for high-bandwidth memory, used in AI data centers, and higher memory prices drove the results.

The March quarter was the first time SK Hynix cleared 50 trillion won in revenue, with sales nearly triple the same period a year earlier. Revenue in won terms missed the 53.55 trillion won projection, and operating profit fell slightly short of the 37.92 trillion won estimate. Operating profit was five times higher year over year and almost double the previous quarter, producing a record operating margin of 72%.

Shares in Seoul initially rose as much as 3.6% in early trading before later trading down about 0.9%.

In its earnings release, SK Hynix wrote, “Despite the fact that first quarter is typically a seasonal downturn, strong demand persisted due to expanded investments in AI infrastructure.” An executive on the earnings call noted that customers were prioritizing procurement over price as the supply-demand imbalance in memory persisted.

High-bandwidth memory, or HBM, is a high-performance segment of the DRAM market and is used for intensive AI workloads. Tightening HBM demand reduced factory capacity and contributed to a broader memory shortage, supporting higher prices. SK Hynix has positioned itself as a leading HBM supplier and held roughly a 57% share of the HBM market in the most recent period.

Samsung regained the top spot in overall DRAM revenue in the last three months of 2025, while SK Hynix kept the lead in HBM. Samsung began shipping HBM4 chips in February; SK Hynix supplied HBM4 samples earlier and plans to provide samples of next-generation HBM4E in the second half of the year, targeting mass production in 2027.

Supply constraints remain a concern for the industry. SK Group leadership has warned that a global wafer shortage could last until 2030 and that expanding wafer capacity may take four to five years, potentially leaving a shortfall exceeding 20%. To increase capacity, SK Hynix plans to invest 19 trillion won in a new manufacturing plant in South Korea.

The company said it has diversified suppliers for inputs such as helium, bromine and tungsten and has built inventories to reduce production disruption. Long-term liquefied natural gas agreements were cited as a measure to help control energy costs going forward.

SK Hynix expects demand to remain elevated as AI use expands beyond model training to applications requiring repeated real-time inference across services, keeping memory procurement high on customers’ agendas.