SK Hynix Stock Jumps 10% on $75 Billion Payout Plan, Massive Profit Increase

Nvidia supplier reported a sevenfold profit increase and outlined record shareholder returns, while forecasting memory shortages through 2030.

📈 Record earnings lift the shares

• SK Hynix shares 000660 on the Kospi surged as much as 10% Wednesday morning after quarterly operating profit reached 83.3 trillion won, or $62.8 billion.
• That exceeded the 76.7 trillion won estimates and the 11.4 trillion won a year earlier. Rising memory prices and demand for AI infrastructure powered the increase.
• Revenue jumped 328% to 104.6 trillion won, surpassing 100 trillion won for the first time, while the operating margin reached 80%. The business benefits from both conventional server memory and high-bandwidth memory, or HBM — the stacked memory used alongside AI processors to move large amounts of data quickly.
• The rally follows a difficult stretch for the stock. Shares had fallen 20% between September 1 and Tuesday, despite repeated earnings records. Investors have questioned whether big tech’s AI investment can sustain its pace. Wednesday’s results offer some evidence.

💰 Shareholders get a larger return

• SK Hynix plans 100 trillion won, or $75 billion, in shareholder returns for 2026. That includes more than 30 trillion won in cash dividends and more than 60 trillion won in repurchases and cancellations.
• The board approved a 14 trillion won third-quarter dividend, equivalent to 20,000 won per share. Half reflects operating performance; the other half is a special dividend sharing gains from the company’s Kioxia investment.
• A separate 20 trillion won buyback also needs unpacking. Shares worth 10 trillion won will be cancelled, reducing the outstanding share count. Roughly 10 trillion won will instead support employee compensation and is excluded from the shareholder-return total.

🧠 Memory demand supports the outlook

• Management described DRAM and HBM supply as effectively sold out through 2029, combining signed agreements with customer demand still under negotiation. The company also expects demand to exceed supply through 2030, pushing back against concerns that the AI memory cycle has already peaked.
• Signed long-term agreements with 14 major customers cover more than half of 2027–28 production capacity. Those commitments improve visibility as SK Hynix prepares to increase capital expenditure significantly next year.
• The next operational milestone is HBM4 overtaking HBM3E in both shipment volume and revenue during the fourth quarter, according to company expectations. Production execution, product pricing and the cost of expansion will help determine whether today’s exceptional profitability can endure.