SK Hynix First-Quarter Operating Profit Jumps Fivefold to $26 Billion, Margin Hits Record 72%

SK Hynix first-quarter earnings

Revenue rises 198.1% to $36.4 billion

Operating profit jumps 406% to $26.0 billion

Operating margin reaches a record 72%

SK Hynix posted record quarterly revenue, operating profit and operating margin in the first quarter, driven by demand for artificial intelligence memory.

The chipmaker increased sales of high-bandwidth memory, high-capacity server DRAM modules and enterprise solid-state drives despite seasonal weakness, pushing revenue above $36 billion and operating profit above $20 billion for the first time.

SK Hynix said on April 23 that, on a consolidated basis, first-quarter revenue totaled 52.5763 trillion won ($36.4 billion), operating profit was 37.6103 trillion won ($26.0 billion) and net profit came to 40.3459 trillion won ($27.9 billion). Operating margin reached 72%, the highest in the company's history. Net margin was 77%.

Revenue exceeded 50 trillion won for the first time, rising 198.1% from a year earlier. Operating profit climbed 405.5% and roughly doubled from the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter of last year, SK Hynix posted revenue of 32.8267 trillion won ($22.7 billion) and operating profit of 19.1696 trillion won ($13.3 billion).

The company cited increased investment in AI infrastructure as the main driver of the first-quarter performance. Demand remained strong despite the seasonal off-peak period, while sales of higher-value products including HBM, high-capacity server DRAM modules and eSSDs increased.

Cash and cash equivalents stood at 54.3 trillion won ($37.6 billion) at the end of the first quarter, up 19.4 trillion won from the end of the previous quarter. Borrowings fell by 2.9 trillion won to 19.3 trillion won ($13.4 billion). Net cash totaled 35 trillion won ($24.2 billion).

SK Hynix said the center of gravity in the AI market is shifting from training large models to the "agentic AI" stage, where real-time inference is repeatedly carried out across a range of service environments. That is broadening the base of memory demand across both DRAM and NAND.

The company said advances in memory-efficiency technology will improve the economics of AI services and support broader service expansion, further lifting memory demand. It expects favorable pricing conditions to continue for both DRAM and NAND.

SK Hynix plans to expand supply of new products across DRAM and NAND to meet increasingly diverse AI demand. In HBM, it plans to strengthen execution capabilities spanning performance and yield, quality and supply stability. In DRAM, it will step up supply of LPDDR6, which uses the world's first sixth-generation 10-nanometer-class 1c process, as well as 192GB SOCAMM2 products, whose mass production began this month using the same process.

In NAND, the company has started supplying the PQC21 client SSD, which uses CTF-based 321-layer QLC technology. It also plans to respond more flexibly to AI demand across the eSSD market with a lineup that includes both high-performance TLC and high-capacity QLC products.

SK Hynix said it will also boost competitiveness in AI data center and AI PC storage markets through synergies with Solidigm, which has strengths in high-capacity QLC eSSDs.

The company said supply capacity is becoming as important as demand in the AI era. With customer demand continuing to outpace supply capacity, securing a production base that can support structural demand growth has become critical.

SK Hynix said it will sharply increase investment this year from a year earlier to support the M15X ramp-up, infrastructure preparation centered on the Yongin cluster and procurement of key equipment including EUV tools.

"We will strategically expand our production base so we can respond proactively to mid- to long-term demand growth," the company said. "Through investment that reflects demand visibility, we will secure both supply stability and financial soundness."

Kim Dae-young, Hankyung.com reporter kdy@hankyung.com