SK hynix posts record profit, plans 100 trillion won payout

SK Hynix ↗ 12.94% reported record third-quarter operating profit of 83.3 trillion won ($62.8 billion) on Wednesday, Oct. 28, Seoul time. That is more than seven times the 11.4 trillion won it earned a year earlier and above the 76.7 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate, according to Reuters. Revenue rose 328% to 104.6 trillion won. It was the first time quarterly sales passed 100 trillion won, and the operating margin reached 80%, the company said in its earnings release.reuters.com+1

Alongside the results, the Nvidia ↘ 0.51% supplier said it will return about 100 trillion won (roughly $75 billion) to shareholders in 2026. The payout reflects how much cash rising AI memory prices are bringing in.

Dividends, buybacks and Kioxia

The 2026 plan includes at least 30 trillion won in cash dividends and at least 60 trillion won in share buybacks and cancellations, according to the release. The buyback total counts the 40 trillion won program announced in August, which was completed last week. On Wednesday, the board approved a 14 trillion won third-quarter dividend of 20,000 won per share. Half of it, 10,000 won per share, is a special dividend that passes on gains from the company's investment in Kioxia. The board also approved a new 20 trillion won buyback. Half of those shares will be canceled, and the other half will go toward employee compensation and is not counted in the return total, The Korea Herald reported.koreaherald.com+1

SK Hynix holds its Kioxia stake through a consortium led by Bain Capital. It plans to pay the Kioxia-linked special dividend in two parts, one now and one at the end of the fiscal year, Yonhap reported. Not every line beat expectations. Net income was 39.8 trillion won, up 216% from a year earlier but down 58% from the second quarter, the company's figures show.finance.yahoo.com+1

Shortage seen lasting to 2030

Higher sales of server DDR5 memory and HBM4 drove the quarter. HBM4 is the sixth generation of high-bandwidth memory used alongside AI processors. SK Hynix expects it to overtake the previous generation, HBM3E, in both shipments and revenue in the fourth quarter as it brings its M15X plant in Cheongju to full capacity, CNBC reported. Long-term agreements with 14 major customers now cover more than half of its 2027 and 2028 production capacity.cnbc.com

The company said demand will outpace supply through 2030 because leading-edge chipmaking processes are technically difficult and new plants take years to build. It plans to raise investment substantially next year, when its first fab in Yongin begins full-scale operation, according to the release. Cash stood at 114.5 trillion won at the end of the quarter.finance.yahoo.com

The results come after a difficult stretch for the stock. SK Hynix shares fell nearly 30% in the three months after its second-quarter report. Last Friday, the company suspended plans to list its U.S. subsidiary Solidigm, following shareholder opposition and regulatory scrutiny, Yonhap reported.en.yna.co.kr

"We will accelerate efforts to expand production capacity and strengthen product competitiveness to sustain our current growth momentum," the company said, Yonhap reported.en.yna.co.kr