SK Hynix's AI Gold Rush Sends Profits Soaring 632% — but One Analyst Says Buy Micron or Samsung Instead

What happened

SK hynix reported a record operating profit of 83.33 trillion won ($62.55 billion), up 632% from a year earlier and above analysts' estimates of 76.7 trillion won. Revenue rose 328% to 104.62 trillion won ($78.52 billion), driven by higher memory prices and AI server demand.

Confirmed

Global impact / market context

The profit jump shows AI data centers are buying memory chips in large volumes, which lifts SK hynix's earnings and cash available to spend on new plants and return to shareholders. Long-term customer deals covering over half of 2027–2028 output reduce the risk of a sudden drop in sales.

Analyst inference

Investors are debating whether this AI memory boom can last or will follow past cycles of oversupply and falling prices. SK hynix trades against Micron and Samsung, and one analyst, Futurum's Daniel Newman, argues its results make the stock look cheap, though that is his view, not a fact.

Analyst inference

What to watch

1. SK hynix signed long-term agreements with 14 major customers, including global cloud providers, covering more than 50% of its total production capacity for 2027 and 2028, which reduces the risk of unsold output. Confirmed
2. SK hynix plans to increase capital spending significantly from 2026 levels and return about KRW 100 trillion ($75 billion) to shareholders this year through dividends and buybacks. Proposed
3. Watch whether DRAM demand grows in the mid-20% range and NAND in the high teens in 2027, as guided. Slower growth would hurt memory prices, revenue and profit per sale for SK hynix and rivals. Analyst inference

Evidence

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