SK Hynix’s profit surges 557% but still misses targets, with both revenue and profit falling short of expectations, sparking concerns over AI demand.

SK Hynix released its Q2 2026 financial results, reporting operating profit surged 557% year-over-year to 60.5 trillion won, hitting a record high but falling short of the market consensus estimate of 64 trillion won. Revenue came in at 79 trillion won, also missing the projected 84 trillion won. Following the earnings release, the company’s U.S.-listed shares fell more than 9% in after-hours trading. As a core supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to NVIDIA, SK Hynix stated that AI demand remains robust, and projected that the global supply tightness for memory chips could persist beyond 2030. The company has signed multi-year supply agreements with around 10 clients and is advancing the mass production and sample delivery of its HBM4 and HBM4E products. This year’s capital expenditure is projected to reach 40 trillion won, as it continues expanding production capacity for AI-focused memory chips. However, market concerns are mounting over a slowdown in memory chip price gains and a potential resurgence of industry cyclical risks. Investors are closely watching whether the AI investment boom can sustain and if current high profit levels are nearing the peak of the semiconductor cycle. As of press time, SK Hynix’s shares on the South Korean stock market were down 9.61%.