SK hynix is one of the big three when it comes to memory, so it's no surprise that the company's latest earnings report for Q2 2026 reflects a record-high operating profit thanks to the demand for HBM and other high-performance memory. With KRW 60.5 trillion in profit, this represents a 557% increase year-over-year; however, even this astronomically high figure failed to meet expectations.
Throw in overall revenue of KRW 79.3 trillion, a 257% increase from a year ago, and SK hynix's share price still managed to drop by over 9% on Wednesday. One reason the company's Q2 performance fell short is continued DRAM price increases and SK hynix's inability to pass them on because it has long-term supply agreements (LTAs) with key customers already in place. Reporting indicates approximately 50% of the company's total sales were made via these long-term contracts.
Popular Now: Linus Tech Tips leaks Steam Frame first impressions, and Valve may be working on native Half-Life: Alyx supportBut these lower prices are temporary, with several of these contracts concluding. And with SK hynix beginning to mass produce and ship next-gen HBM4 memory, it's expected that demand from the AI and data center markets will continue to increase as next-gen systems like NVIDIA's Vera Rubin begin to roll out in volume. HBM4 memory is widely viewed as a critical component in this next generation of AI hardware, with all of the big three (SK hynix, Samsung, and Micron) on board to supply HBM4 to NVIDIA.
- Read more: Samsung becomes the first company to ship HBM4E memory samples, just three months after leading the HBM4 generation
- Read more: Samsung should be first with HBM4 powering NVIDIA's new Vera Rubin AI chips, passed all tests
- Read more: SK hynix sold out of HBM for 2025, soon taking customer orders for 2026 supply of HBM
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"With major tech companies increasing their AI infrastructure investments, additional supply requests continue to mount," the company said. "As these investments are supported by revenue generated from AI services, the momentum in memory demand is expected to persist." And with that, analysts are already predicting another 30%, at least, price increase for memory in Q3 2026, with the supply shortfall expected to persist through 2028.
