SK Hynix Shares Surge Following Historic Q1 Earnings Powered by AI Chip Sales

Table of Contents SK Hynix delivered an exceptional performance to kick off 2026. The memory chip giant from South Korea announced record-breaking quarterly earnings on Thursday, propelled by escalating prices for AI-focused memory solutions. SK HYNIX Q1’26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS 🔹 Revenue: $35.6B (Est. $35.1B) 🟢; +60% QoQ / +198% YoY🔹 Operating Profit: $25.4B (Est. $24.6B) 🟢; +96% QoQ / +405% YoY🔹 Net Profit: $27.3B (Est. $20.8B) 🟢; +165% QoQ / +398% YoY🔹 Operating Margin: 72%🔹 EBITDA Margin: 79% Q2 Guide:… pic.twitter.com/XsdMdK04KM — Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) April 22, 2026 First-quarter net profit reached 40.3 trillion won ($27.2 billion), significantly surpassing analyst projections of 29.4 trillion won. Revenue totaled 52.58 trillion won — marginally below the anticipated 53.55 trillion won, yet still representing nearly triple the figure from the previous year. Operating profit jumped fivefold year-over-year and saw a near-doubling compared to the fourth quarter. The company’s operating margin climbed to an all-time high of 72%. Shares of the company climbed as much as 3.6% during early trading hours in Seoul before experiencing a modest pullback, ultimately trading down 0.9%. SK Hynix attributed the exceptional performance to increasing memory chip prices and intensifying demand from artificial intelligence infrastructure expansion. Even though the first quarter typically experiences seasonal weakness, the company reported sustained robust demand. “Strong demand persisted due to expanded investments in AI infrastructure,” the company said in its earnings release. SK Hynix maintains its position as the global leader in high-bandwidth memory supply, a critical component for AI server systems. The company controls 57% of the HBM market and serves as a principal supplier to Nvidia. Demand for HBM has been so intense that it has created production capacity constraints, which has subsequently driven up pricing for standard DRAM chips as well. The DRAM sector experienced 30% quarter-over-quarter expansion for two consecutive periods, based on data from Counterpoint Research. The company’s DRAM marketing division head indicated that the favorable pricing environment might be “more prolonged compared with the past,” given that suppliers are struggling to match demand levels. Samsung regained its position as the leading overall DRAM revenue generator from SK Hynix during Q4 2025, according to Counterpoint figures. However, SK Hynix has maintained its commanding position in the HBM segment, where profit margins are substantially higher. Samsung disclosed in February that it had begun delivering its initial HBM4 chips. SK Hynix had already provided HBM4 samples nearly twelve months prior, and revealed Thursday that it intends to distribute samples of its seventh-generation HBM4E during the second half of 2026, with volume production scheduled for 2027. The company unveiled plans for a 19 trillion won investment in a new production facility located in Cheongju, South Korea. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has indicated that the worldwide chip wafer shortage might continue through 2030, considering that capacity expansion projects require four to five years to become operational and a projected deficit exceeding 20%. Regarding supply chain vulnerabilities, the continuing Middle East tensions have sparked concerns about access to critical materials including helium, bromine, and tungsten. SK Hynix reported that it has diversified its supplier network and accumulated adequate inventory reserves, anticipating minimal production disruption. Extended liquefied natural gas contracts have also been secured to help mitigate energy cost volatility. Counterpoint Research analyst MS Hwang informed CNBC that first-quarter performance from memory manufacturers “show strong profitability and reveal that a lot more memory is needed for AI inference than expected.” Mirae Asset Securities analyst Kim Young-gun indicated he anticipates SK Hynix’s profit trajectory to remain robust throughout 2026, highlighting multi-year supply contracts being finalized with leading technology companies — some of which are actively pursuing extensions beyond original agreement durations.