SK Hynix Shares Spike in Seoul as Q3 Profit Jumps More Than 7-Fold: Memory Giant Plans $75 Billion in Shareholder Returns

SK Hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY) on late Tuesday posted a more than sevenfold jump in third-quarter profit and beat analyst estimates, with higher memory prices and AI server demand fueling the surge.

Record Operating Profit Beats Estimates

Operating profit hit a record KRW 83.33 trillion ($62.55 billion), up 632% from a year earlier. That compared with the KRW 76.7 trillion ($57.55 billion) LSEG SmartEstimate, according to Reuters.

Revenue climbed 328% year-over-year to KRW 104.62 trillion ($78.52 billion), up 328%.

Operating margin widened to 80%, from 76% in the prior quarter and 47% a year ago.

Long-Term Deals Lock in Demand

The Nvidia Corp. supplier has signed long-term agreements with 14 major customers, including leading global cloud providers, typically running five years, with extensions under discussion with several of them.

The volume secured covers more than 50% of total production capacity for 2027 and 2028, with prices set within an agreed range that reflects market conditions.

The company said supply “is not keeping pace with the growth of the market” and expects “the structure in which demand exceeds supply to persist through 2030.”

Buybacks, Guidance and Bigger Spending Plan

SK hynix plans to return about KRW 100 trillion ($75 billion) to shareholders this year, with at least KRW 30 trillion ($22.52 billion) in dividends and at least KRW 60 trillion ($45 billion) in buybacks.

For the fourth quarter, it guided to a mid-20 % increase in DRAM growth from the third quarter and a mid-single-digit increase in NAND.

For 2027, it sees DRAM demand growing in the mid-20% range year-over-year and NAND demand in the high teens.

Capital expenditure is also set to rise significantly from 2026 levels, the company said.

Last week, SK Hynix halted its review of a Solidigm IPO, citing market volatility and a correction in chip stock.

Price Action: On Tuesday, Nasdaq-listed ADRs closed 1.92% higher at $145.36 and gained 2.78% to $149.40 in extended trading.

In Seoul, shares traded up 6.64% to KRW 1,430,000 ($1,071.52), and the KOSPI was up 4.93% at the time of writing.

Benzinga Edge rankings indicate SKHY’s ADRs have a Growth score in the 98th percentile and a Quality score in the 61st percentile.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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