SK Hynix Operating Margin Nears 80% on Soaring HBM, Commodity Memory Prices

SK Hynix posted an operating margin nearing 80% as demand for artificial intelligence chips increased and memory prices climbed.

Bloomberg reported on Oct. 27 that SK Hynix posted third-quarter operating profit of 83.3333 trillion won ($60.4 billion), up 632.1% from a year earlier. Revenue rose 327.9% to 104.6155 trillion won ($75.8 billion). Its operating margin reached about 79.7%.

The improvement was driven by rising prices for both high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, and commodity memory. SK Hynix has benefited from increased investment in AI data centers by supplying HBM to Nvidia. At the same time, surging DRAM and NAND flash prices sharply boosted profitability.

In particular, memory makers' shift toward a larger share of HBM production has reduced commodity memory supply, supporting further price increases. SK Hynix said the memory shortage will continue through 2030.

MS Hwang, a director at Counterpoint Research, said HBM prices are also rising, but the sharp jump in earnings stemmed from steep increases in commodity DRAM and NAND prices. Quarterly earnings have not yet peaked, and the uptrend will likely continue at least through 2027.

Rising memory demand from expanding AI infrastructure investment is also a positive factor. According to Macquarie, memory now accounts for about one-third of the cost of building AI data centers. HBM prices are projected to more than double by 2027, which would further increase that share.

SK Hynix is expanding long-term supply agreements with major customers including Nvidia to secure profitability. The company also announced an additional shareholder return plan worth 100 trillion won ($72.5 billion) for fiscal 2026.