Seoul – October 29, 2026 -- SK hynix posted third-quarter revenue of 104.6155 trillion won and operating profit of 83.3338 trillion won, an operating margin of 80%. Quarterly revenue has now topped 100 trillion won for the first time in the company's history. Net profit reached 39.7756 trillion won, a 38% net margin.
Revenue rose 32% and operating profit 38% from the second quarter, when the company reported revenue of 79.3187 trillion won and operating profit of 60.5426 trillion won. SK hynix attributed the gain to higher prices for key products amid rising demand for AI memory.
HBM4 shipments begin in earnest as server DDR5 sales climb
In DRAM, results were driven by a significant increase in server DDR5 sales, and HBM4 shipments started in earnest. In NAND, sales of 321-layer TLC eSSD expanded, and data-center products continued to grow across the board.
SK hynix expects HBM4 to surpass HBM3E in both shipment volume and revenue in the fourth quarter and become the mainstream product. To get there, it will ramp the M15X fab to maximum capacity by year-end. It will also raise the 321-layer share to more than half of its domestic NAND capacity in the fourth quarter.
Net cash climbs to 98.7 trillion won as borrowings fall to 15.8 trillion
Cash and cash equivalents stood at 114.5 trillion won at quarter-end, up 26.5 trillion won from the prior quarter. Borrowings fell by 2.8 trillion won to 15.8 trillion won.
Long-term agreements cover more than half of 2027-2028 capacity
SK hynix has signed long-term agreements (LTAs) with 14 major customers, including leading global cloud service providers. The volume secured corresponds to more than 50% of total production capacity for 2027 and 2028. The company is in talks with a number of customers about extending contract terms, which are typically five years.
The contracts include a mechanism that reflects market conditions within a price range agreed with customers. SK hynix says this secures stable profitability while allowing flexible responses to market changes.
Memory supply to lag demand through 2030, company projects
SK hynix said supply is not keeping pace with market growth, citing the technical difficulty of leading-edge processes and the long lead times for new fabs. It expects demand to exceed supply through 2030. It sees near-term growth led by enterprise and personal AI, and mid-to-long-term growth led by physical AI such as autonomous driving and robotics.
The company plans to raise the share of its 10nm-class sixth-generation (1c) process rapidly. It will also expand sales of DDR5 and LPDDR5 SOCAMM for AI servers.
Capital spending to rise significantly in 2027 as Yongin Phase 1 ramps
Investment is expected to increase significantly next year as Yongin Phase 1 enters full-scale operation and domestic and overseas infrastructure spending gains momentum. SK hynix said it will adjust the scale and timing of investment flexibly, weighing customer demand, product competitiveness, profitability and investment efficiency.
Board approves 14 trillion won dividend and 20 trillion won buyback
For fiscal 2026, SK hynix targets shareholder returns of about 100 trillion won. That comprises cash dividends of 30 trillion won or more and share repurchases and cancellations of 60 trillion won or more, including the 40 trillion won announced in August. The company said this fulfills its commitment to return 50% or more of free cash flow. The 40 trillion won repurchase was completed last week, and the shares will be cancelled shortly.
At today's meeting, the board resolved a third-quarter cash dividend of 14 trillion won and a 20 trillion won share repurchase. Of the repurchased shares, 10 trillion won earmarked for shareholder returns will be cancelled in full. The remaining roughly 10 trillion won will fund employee compensation and is excluded from the shareholder return total.
The third-quarter dividend is 20,000 won per share: 10,000 won reflecting improved earnings and a 10,000 won special dividend sharing gains from the Kioxia investment. SK hynix said it will return most of this year's Kioxia gains to shareholders. Repurchases will continue every quarter, and any significant future investment gains will be paid out as special dividends.
The figures are preliminary, based on consolidated K-IFRS, and remain subject to the independent audit.