SK Hynix doubles 2025 revenue as AI reminiscence shortages drive earnings beat

South Korea’s SK Hynix on Wednesday reported document full-year revenue for 2025, greater than doubling its working earnings as shortages of AI-related reminiscence chips pushed costs increased and helped it beat market expectations.

The reminiscence maker additionally posted document income and revenue within the December quarter, because it competes with rival Samsung for the title of the world’s prime reminiscence producer.

The corporate additionally introduced extra dividends of 1 trillion received, or 1,500 received per share, lifting its whole dividend payout for fiscal 2025 to 2.1 trillion received.

Listed below are the corporate’s quarterly outcomes versus LSEG SmartEstimates, that are weighted towards forecasts from analysts who’re extra constantly correct:

• Income: 32.827 trillion received ($23 billion) vs. 32.132 trillion received anticipated
• Working revenue: 19.17 trillion received vs. 17.729 trillion received anticipated

Income rose about 66% within the December quarter from a yr earlier, whereas working revenue surged 137% over the identical interval.

SK Hynix makes reminiscence chips used to retailer information, that are present in every thing from servers to client units reminiscent of smartphones and laptops.

The corporate has benefited from a increase in synthetic intelligence as a key provider of high-bandwidth reminiscence, or HBM chips, used to energy AI information heart servers. 

HBM falls into the broader class of dynamic random entry reminiscence, or DRAM — a kind of semiconductor reminiscence used to retailer information and program code that may be present in PCs, workstations and servers.

SK Hynix mentioned its HBM income greater than doubled in 2025. This helped it attain a document 97.147 trillion received in income for the yr, up practically 50% from 2024. In the meantime, its annual working revenue reached 47.206 trillion received, greater than double the earlier yr’s.

“We see SK hynix as one of many greatest AI winners in Asia, pushed by its management in HBM and robust total reminiscence competitiveness,” mentioned Ray Wang, an analyst at SemiAnalysis targeted on reminiscence and the AI provide chain. 

“Past HBM, commodity DRAM shall be a vital earnings driver this yr, supported by quickly increasing margins and demand stemming from a structural provide scarcity,” he added. 

Demand for HBM has far outpaced provide, triggering shortages throughout the reminiscence sector, together with for much less superior reminiscence chips utilized in client electronics and electrical autos. 

On account of this surroundings, reminiscence costs have been surging, with shortages anticipated to final into subsequent yr as corporations like SK Hynix watch for extra capability expansions to return on-line. 

SK Hynix additionally introduced on Wednesday plans to cancel treasury shares price 12.24 trillion received, a transfer aimed toward boosting shareholder worth. The announcement adopted a surge within the reminiscence maker’s share worth on Tuesday after native media reported that it had turn out to be the unique provider of superior reminiscence chips for a brand new AI processor developed by Microsoft.

SK Hynix will maintain an earnings name with traders on Thursday. Samsung, SK Hynix’s main competitor within the reminiscence market, together with HBM, can also be set to report earnings immediately.