An illustration of the logo of SK Hynix company is seen displayed on the smartphone screen.
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South Korean SK HynixOne of the world’s largest memory chipmakers reported record quarterly earnings on Thursday due to strong sales of high-bandwidth memory used in generic AI chipsets.
However, SK Hynix shares fell 2.7% as CFO Kim Woohyun warned that the outlook for memory demand in 2025 was affected by PC and smartphone makers’ inventory adjustments as well as stronger protective trade policies and geopolitical risks. It had become foggy.
Here are SK Hynix’s fourth-quarter results compared to LSEG SmartEstimate, which is based on analysts’ forecasts that are consistently more accurate:
- Revenue: 19.77 trillion won ($13.7 billion) vs. 19.91 trillion won
- Operating profit: 8.08 trillion won ($5.6 billion) vs. 8.02 trillion won
Revenue rose nearly 75% in the October-December quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, while operating profit surged 2,236% year-on-year to Rs 8.08 trillion.
Revenue grew 12% on a quarter-on-quarter basis, while operating profit rose 15% to a latest record high,
The chip maker has benefited from the boom in artificial intelligence servers and is a major supplier to US AI chip designers NVIDIA,
“With long-standing strong demand for AI memory, the company achieved an all-time high result through world-leading HBM technology and profitability-oriented operations,” SK Hynix said in its statement. earnings release,
HBM is a type of dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, in which chips are stacked vertically to save space and reduce power consumption. micron technology And Samsung Electronics HBM are other major players in the sector.
SK Hynix’s strong fourth-quarter data capped a year in which the company reached record annual revenue, surpassing the previous high by more than 21 trillion won in 2022. Meanwhile, operating profit broke the record set in 2018 during the “super boom” in the semiconductor industry.
During the earnings call, SK Hynix management said the company could see a “modest increase” in capital expenditures in 2025 compared to last year.
Barring demand uncertainty in 2025, the company estimates that sales of HBM and other DRAM products will continue to grow as big tech companies continue to invest in AI servers and faster training of AI models.
The consumer market for AI-enabled PCs and smartphones should also expand, with sales expected to accelerate in the second half of the year, the company said.
“The memory industry is transforming from a commodity market driven by volume and price to a customized market focused on high-performance and high-quality products,” Kim said in the earnings call.
“Overall, this year, DRAM demand is projected to grow by mid to high teens percent, while NAND demand is expected to grow by low teens percent,” he said.
NAND is another type of memory chip that often works in conjunction with DRAM in PCs, servers, and smartphones.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Street Science Asia” on Thursday, Daiwa Capital Markets analyst SK Kim said SK Hynix’s fourth-quarter earnings were “quite strong,” but he added that investors are worried about the market entering an adjustment period. May be worried about. He said SK Hynix will maintain its leadership position in HBM.
SK Hynix shares have gained 29% so far this year, according to LSEG data.
Correction: This article has been revised to reflect updated quarter-on-quarter growth data after SK Hynix amended its press release.
