South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix released its third-quarter results on Wednesday, posting a record quarterly profit that significantly beat estimates while announcing more than $25 billion in dividends and buybacks.
Here are SK Hynix’s third-quarter results compared to LSEG’s SmartEstimates, which are weighted based on more precise analyst forecasts:
- Income: 104.62 trillion won ($78.86 billion) versus 98.34 trillion won expected
- Operating result: 83.33 trillion won versus 76.72 trillion won expected
Revenue increased 327.9% year-on-year, while operating profit climbed 632.1% year-over-year.
Compared to the previous quarter, revenue increased by 31.9%, while operating profit jumped by 37.6%.
SK Hynix posted record quarterly revenue and operating profit, with sales surpassing 100 trillion won for the first time, after announcing plans to return about 100 trillion won to shareholders, including at least 30 trillion won in cash dividends and 60 trillion won in share repurchases and cancellations.
The chipmaker approved a 14 trillion won dividend in the third quarter, including a special dividend funded by gains from its investment in Kioxia. The company will also repurchase 20 trillion won of shares, half of which will be canceled this year.
SK Hynix expects the HBM4 to surpass the HBM3E in shipments and revenue in the fourth quarter as it ramps up production at its M15X factory in Cheongju, South Korea.
HBM, or high-bandwidth memory, is a type of advanced memory used alongside AI processors to handle large amounts of data. HBM4 is the sixth generation of this technology.
The company has entered into long-term agreements with 14 major customers covering more than 50% of its production capacity for 2027 and 2028.
The company expects memory demand to outstrip supply through 2030 and plans to significantly increase its investments next year.
In August, SK Hynix announced plans to repurchase and cancel 40 trillion won worth of its own shares, while increasing its shareholder return target to more than 50% of cumulative free cash flow generated between 2025 and 2027.
Last week, SK Hynix announced that its U.S. subsidiary Solidigm would halt its review of possible fundraising and IPO options ahead of the IPO, citing market volatility and stock price movements.
The company said it will continue to evaluate investment timing, scale and financing options to support Solidigm’s growth and increase shareholder value.
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