SK hynix tops 100 trillion won in quarterly revenue as HBM4 ships and margin hits 80%
SK hynix reported Q3 2026 revenue of 104.6 trillion won, up 328%, with an 80% operating margin, and said AI memory demand will outrun supply through 2030.
By Gürkan E.Published
Tech AI LatestSK hynix reported record third quarter 2026 results on 28 October 2026: revenue of 104.6 trillion won, up 32% on the quarter and 328% on the year, and operating profit of 83.3 trillion won, an 80% margin. HBM4 shipments began in earnest and should overtake HBM3E in the fourth quarter. The company has long-term agreements covering more than half of its 2027 and 2028 capacity and expects memory shortages through 2030.
Key facts
- Reported: 28 October 2026, SK hynix newsroom
- Revenue: 104.6155 trillion won, up 32% QoQ and 328% YoY; first quarter above 100 trillion won
- Operating profit: 83.3338 trillion won, an 80% margin; net profit 39.7756 trillion won
- Contracts: long-term agreements with 14 major customers for more than 50% of 2027 to 2028 capacity
- Shareholder returns: about 100 trillion won for 2026, including a 20,000 won third quarter dividend
- Not stated: HBM revenue share and 2027 capital spending amount
What SK hynix reported
SK hynix announced its third quarter 2026 results on 28 October 2026. Revenue was 104.6155 trillion won, the first quarter above 100 trillion won in the company's history, up from 79.3 trillion won in the second quarter and 24.4 trillion won a year earlier. Operating profit was 83.3338 trillion won, for an operating margin of 80%, and net profit was 39.7756 trillion won.
Net profit fell 58% from the second quarter, when it was 93.9 trillion won. The release does not break out the cause, but it links its shareholder plans to gains realized on the company's Kioxia investment this year. Cash and equivalents reached 114.5 trillion won and net cash rose to 98.7 trillion won.
HBM4, contracts and capacity
The company says DRAM growth came from server DDR5 and from HBM4, whose shipments began in earnest in the quarter. It expects HBM4 to pass HBM3E in both shipment volume and revenue in the fourth quarter and will run its M15X fab at maximum capacity by year end to make more of it. It also plans to raise the share of its 1c DRAM process and sell more LPDDR5 SOCAMM modules for AI servers.
SK hynix has signed long-term agreements with 14 major customers, including leading cloud providers, covering more than 50% of its 2027 and 2028 production capacity. Contracts are typically five years and include a mechanism that moves prices within an agreed range. With the Yongin Phase 1 site entering full operation, the company says investment will rise significantly next year, but the amount is not stated in the release.
Why it matters
Memory has become one of the tightest constraints on AI hardware. SK hynix says demand will exceed supply through 2030 because leading-edge processes are hard to scale and new fabs take years to build. Multi-year contracts that cover half its output suggest cloud providers are locking in supply well ahead of need, which supports the capacity plans that NVIDIA and its partners set out recently in their supply chain expansion. More coverage is in AI Chips & Infrastructure.
Shareholder returns and next steps
SK hynix plans about 100 trillion won of 2026 shareholder returns, with at least 30 trillion won in dividends and at least 60 trillion won in buybacks and cancellations. The board approved a 14 trillion won third quarter dividend, or 20,000 won per share, and a 20 trillion won buyback. CEO Kwak Noh-Jung also said the company has stopped reviewing a Solidigm IPO, citing recent financial market conditions. The next quarterly report will show whether HBM4 has overtaken HBM3E as planned.
What changed
| Before | Q2 2026: revenue of 79.3 trillion won and operating profit of 60.5 trillion won, with HBM3E the main HBM product |
|---|---|
| After | Q3 2026: revenue of 104.6 trillion won, an 80% operating margin, HBM4 in volume shipment and LTAs covering over half of 2027 to 2028 capacity |
| Who it affects | AI accelerator makers and cloud providers buying HBM and server DRAM, and SK hynix shareholders |
Questions people ask
- How much revenue did SK hynix make in Q3 2026?
- 104.6155 trillion won, up 32% from the second quarter and 328% from the third quarter of 2025, with operating profit of 83.3 trillion won.
- When will HBM4 become SK hynix's main HBM product?
- The company expects HBM4 to surpass HBM3E in shipment volume and revenue in the fourth quarter of 2026.
- How long will the memory shortage last?
- SK hynix says it expects demand to exceed supply through 2030, because leading-edge processes are hard and new production facilities take a long time to build.
Sources
- SK hynix Announces 3Q26 Financial Results (SK hynix Newsroom, 28 Oct 2026)
Reference pages
- SK hynix company
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