SK hynix Q3 Record Operating Profit Exceeds 11 Trillion Won: Analysis of HBM and AI Super Cycle

[Memory Leadership in the AI Era: SK hynix Performance Analysis]

SK hynix announced the entry into a memory market super cycle by recording its best-ever performance in the third quarter of 2025. In particular, the overwhelming leadership in **High Bandwidth Memory (HBM)**, essential for the spread of AI, spearheaded this phenomenal achievement. In this post, we will deeply analyze SK hynix's operating profit exceeding 11 trillion won and thoroughly examine the leadership in the HBM market and the long-term outlook for the future of the memory semiconductor industry.

⚡ The Meaning of SK hynix's Quarterly Operating Profit Exceeding 11 Trillion Won: AI Semiconductor Leadership and the Memory Super Cycle

1. Analysis of SK hynix's Q3 2025 Performance

SK hynix recorded **sales of 24.4489 trillion won** and **operating profit of 11.3834 trillion won** on a consolidated basis in the third quarter of 2025. This is the highest quarterly figure ever, and especially, the operating profit is the first time in the company's history to exceed 10 trillion won.

Category	Q3 2025 Performance	YoY Change Rate	Key Characteristics
Sales	24.4489 trillion won	39.1% increase	All-time high sales
Operating Profit	11.3834 trillion won	61.9% increase	All-time high since foundation, first time exceeding 10 trillion won quarterly
Net Income	12.5975 trillion won	-	Recorded net profit margin of 52%

The core drivers of this **earning surprise** can be summarized into two main factors:

• **Full-scale price increase for DRAM and NAND**: General-purpose memory prices rose as the memory market emerged from a slump and entered a boom phase.
• **Increased shipments of high-performance products (HBM) for AI servers**: In particular, the preemptive position of HBM, essential for the spread of Artificial Intelligence (AI) services, played a decisive role.

---

2. HBM Leadership and AI Effect: The Core Drivers of Performance

SK hynix's record-high performance demonstrates that it has secured **leadership in the AI semiconductor era**. The market anticipates that HBM sales will account for over 8 trillion won in this third quarter's performance, a high level where HBM constitutes about **45%** of the total DRAM revenue.

SK hynix ranks **number one in global HBM market share** (64% based on Q2 2025 sales) and is known to have **completed all HBM supply agreements for next year** with major customers such as NVIDIA.

What is HBM (High Bandwidth Memory)?
It is a high-performance memory semiconductor that has innovatively improved data processing speed and capacity compared to conventional DRAM. It is essential for **Artificial Intelligence (AI) servers and High-Performance Computing (HPC)** fields, which need to process vast amounts of data quickly, and is considered a new growth engine for the memory market.

Consequently, the **explosive increase in AI memory demand centered on HBM**, combined with the recovery timing of the general-purpose memory market, has brought SK hynix a **super cycle** or even stronger performance.

---

3. Memory Super Cycle Outlook and Implications

SK hynix's performance is interpreted as a signal that the semiconductor industry's recovery is not just a rebound but the **start of a new era**. AI is not a temporary theme but is driving a **long-term structural change**, and high-performance memory demand is at the heart of this change.

• **Fundamental Change in the Memory Industry**: Past memory super cycles primarily relied on demand fluctuations in front-end industries like PCs and smartphones, but this AI-driven cycle is led by the stable and high-performance-demanding market of **data centers and AI servers**.
• **Importance of Securing Competitive Advantage**: Just as SK hynix is leading the way through HBM, in the future, **technological capability** and **first-mover advantage** will determine corporate performance. The trend shows that technological differentiation directly leads to performance, as seen in the forecast of improved operating profit margins next year by increasing the share of high-capacity **QLC (Quad-Level Cell)** in the NAND flash market.

The **implication for investors** is clear. SK hynix's performance provides a hint as to who will be the winner in the AI era. It is time to continue long-term interest in companies that **lead next-generation technologies like HBM**, beyond a simple price rebound.

Key Summary:
SK hynix's record-high performance (Operating profit of 11.3834 trillion won) is the result of leadership in **AI servers and HBM (High Bandwidth Memory)**. It suggests that the memory semiconductor market has entered a **new super cycle** through the powerful structural change of AI.

The content of this blog is for reference in investment judgment only, and investment decisions must be made under individual judgment and responsibility. Under no circumstances can the information in this blog be used as evidence for legal liability regarding investment results.