SEOUL — SK Hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, reported record third-quarter results before Wednesday's market open: operating profit of 83.33 trillion won, up 631 percent from a year earlier, on revenue of 104.61 trillion won, up 327.9 percent, Yonhap reported. Yaani: 83.33 trillion won is about US$62.7 billion (about $6,270 crore) of operating profit in a single quarter, and revenue crossed 100 trillion won for the first time.

Source: Yonhap via Korea JoongAng Daily

The result beat analyst expectations of roughly 76 trillion to 77.5 trillion won, and the company put its operating margin near 80 percent. SK Hynix said demand for DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI infrastructure is already booked years ahead — Aju Business Daily reported the company said its HBM and DRAM supplies for the next three years have been booked and sold out, and that it has signed long-term supply agreements with 14 major customers covering more than half of its capacity in both 2027 and 2028, with demand expected to exceed supply through 2030.

83.33T wonQ3 operating profit, up 631% year on year (Yonhap)
104.61T wonQ3 revenue, up 327.9%, first quarter above 100 trillion won
100T wontotal shareholder-return plan, about US$75 billion (KED Global)
6,000level the KOSPI briefly crossed, first time in two weeks (Aju Business Daily)

Markets reacted immediately. As of 11:10 a.m. in Seoul, the KOSPI was trading 5.96 percent higher at 5,974.34 after briefly touching above 6,000, with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics both about 8 percent higher, Aju Business Daily reported. Foreign investors bought a net 631.9 billion won and local institutions 713.7 billion won, while retail investors sold to take profits. The Korea Economic Daily's global edition reported foreign investors were on track for their largest daily net buy since September 7.

Alongside the results, SK Hynix announced large shareholder returns: Yonhap reported an additional 60 trillion won in returns, while KED Global put the total return plan at 100 trillion won (about US$75 billion — yaani about $7,500 crore), combining dividends with share repurchases and cancellations. One caution inside the record: net income was 39.78 trillion won, down from the second quarter, so the record was in revenue and operating profit, not in net profit.

What is solid

  • SK Hynix reported Q3 operating profit of 83.33 trillion won and revenue of 104.61 trillion won, both described as all-time quarterly highs, in preliminary unaudited results reported by Yonhap and Korean business media.
  • The KOSPI briefly traded above 6,000 on Wednesday for the first time in two weeks, with chip stocks leading, Aju Business Daily reported.
  • The shareholder-return figures come from the company's announcements as reported by Yonhap (additional 60 trillion won) and KED Global (100 trillion won total plan, about US$75 billion).

What is only claimed

  • How long the AI memory supercycle lasts is a market judgement, not a fact: the company expects demand to exceed supply through 2030, while investors remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's rate decision later Wednesday, Yonhap noted.

What happens next: Samsung Electronics is expected to release its finalised third-quarter earnings on Thursday, and Aju reported it is expected to show a similar operating margin. For the wider market, the Hynix numbers are the latest test of whether AI infrastructure spending can keep lifting Asia's chip exporters even as oil prices and US interest rates stay high.