Prime Highlights:
SK Hynix reported a record fourth-quarter revenue of 19.77 trillion won ($13.7 billion), a 75% year-on-year increase.
Operating profit surged by 2,236%, reaching 8.08 trillion won ($5.6 billion), marking an all-time high.
Strong demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI applications contributed significantly to the performance.
Key Background:
SK Hynix, a leading South Korean memory chipmaker, posted record-breaking earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024, fueled by robust demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The company reported a 75% increase in revenue, reaching 19.77 trillion won ($13.7 billion), compared to the same period the previous year. Operating profit surged an impressive 2,236%, totaling 8.08 trillion won ($5.6 billion), marking a historic high.
Despite these exceptional results, SK Hynix’s shares fell by 2.7%, as concerns about future demand weighed on investor sentiment. CFO Kim Woohyun highlighted potential challenges in 2025, including inventory adjustments from PC and smartphone manufacturers and the impact of geopolitical risks and trade policies on the global market.
SK Hynix’s growth has been driven by its leading position in the HBM market, a type of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) that has become crucial for AI workloads. The company’s performance was particularly bolstered by strong sales of memory chips used in AI servers, with major clients including U.S. AI chipmaker Nvidia.
The company also reached new annual milestones, surpassing its previous revenue high set in 2022 and achieving the highest operating profit since 2018. SK Hynix management forecasted continued growth in AI-driven memory demand in 2025, though uncertainty in the broader consumer market for PCs and smartphones may impact overall performance.
For 2025, SK Hynix expects a slight increase in capital expenditure and anticipates further growth in the demand for DRAM and NAND memory chips as investments in AI technology continue to rise. Despite concerns over potential market adjustments, analysts remain confident in the company’s leadership in the HBM space.