A quarter above every forecast
SK Hynix published third-quarter figures on Wednesday that beat the consensus on both of its headline measures. Revenue came in at 104.62 trillion won against an expected 98.34 trillion won, while operating profit reached 83.33 trillion won versus 76.72 trillion won anticipated. The comparison used LSEG SmartEstimates, which gives more weight to analysts with steadier track records.[S1]
The pace of growth was striking in every direction. Sales were up 327.9% from the same period a year earlier and operating profit rose 632.1%. Measured against the immediately preceding quarter, revenue gained 31.9% and operating profit 37.6%. Both revenue and operating profit set company records, and quarterly sales passed the 100 trillion won mark for the first time.[S1]
A 100 trillion won payout to shareholders
Alongside the earnings, the board approved a shareholder return package of about 100 trillion won. It includes no less than 30 trillion won in cash dividends and 60 trillion won devoted to buying back and cancelling shares. A third-quarter dividend of 14 trillion won was approved, part of it a special payout drawing on gains from the company's stake in Kioxia. A 20 trillion won buyback is also planned, with half of those shares to be retired during the year.[S1]
The announcement extends a policy shift made in August, when SK Hynix said it would repurchase and cancel 40 trillion won of its own stock and lifted its target for returning cash to more than half of the free cash flow it expects to generate across 2025 to 2027.[S1]
HBM4, capacity and the road to 2030
Management expects HBM4, the sixth generation of high-bandwidth memory, to overtake HBM3E in both units shipped and revenue during the fourth quarter as output expands at the M15X plant in Cheongju, South Korea. High-bandwidth memory is the advanced memory stacked alongside AI processors to move very large volumes of data.[S1][S2]
Long-term contracts with 14 large customers already cover more than half of the company's output for 2027 and 2028, according to SK Hynix, which forecasts demand staying ahead of supply through 2030 and intends to raise investment substantially next year. Separately, the company said its U.S. unit Solidigm had dropped a review of pre-IPO funding and listing options, pointing to market volatility and share price movements, and would keep weighing when, at what size and how to finance its growth.[S1]
