Key Takeaways:
- Net profit surged 13-fold to a record 93.9 trillion won, beating estimates
- Revenue and operating profit hit records but missed consensus forecasts
- Stock fell 18%, on track for worst day, as AI expectations priced for perfection
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SK Hynix net profit surges 13-fold to record, stock plunges 18%
SK Hynix reported a record 93.9 trillion won net profit for the second quarter, a 13-fold surge that still failed to satisfy investors.
"The results show just how high the bar sits for anything tied to AI," Josh Gilbert, lead analyst at eToro, said.
Revenue more than tripled to 79.3 trillion won and operating profit rose sixfold to 60.5 trillion won, both all-time highs but below consensus estimates of 84.2 trillion won and 64.3 trillion won, respectively.
The 18% plunge puts SK Hynix shares on track for their worst day ever, extending a decline that has erased more than half the stock's value from its June peak during a broader selloff in AI-chip stocks.
The company maintained a bullish outlook for the second half of 2026, citing tight supply and strong demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI servers. SK Hynix said it expects capital investments to reach the upper end of its 40 trillion won guidance this year, up from roughly 30 trillion won in 2025.
Pretax profit exceeded 120 trillion won, buoyed by more than 60 trillion won in investment gains from its stake in Japanese chip maker Kioxia through Bain Capital, analysts estimated.
The sell-off in SK Hynix, a heavyweight in South Korea's KOSPI, dragged the benchmark index down about 8%. Rival Samsung Electronics fell about 8%, while weakness spread to chip stocks across Asia. Japan's Kioxia dropped 13% and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. traded about 4% lower.
The company has secured long-term supply deals with about 10 customers based on strong AI-chip demand and is in talks with others on additional multiyear agreements, executives said on the earnings call. Last week, SK Group, the parent company, announced a half-trillion dollar partnership with Nvidia to build AI infrastructure.
The earnings miss despite record results shows that AI-chip valuations have reached levels where perfection is priced in. Investors will watch whether SK Hynix's long-term supply agreements and the Nvidia partnership can sustain the company's growth trajectory through the second half of 2026.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
[1] SK Hynix Net Profit Hits Record; Other Metrics Disappoint - WSJ[2] SK hynix logs record profit in Q2[3] SK Hynix Q2 profit 60.5 trillion won, record but misses expectations[4] SK Hynix is the latest chip giant to discover that a 557% profit boost isn't good enough[5] SK Hynix misses profit estimates despite record quarter, sees higher CapEx as AI demand holds strong: Jim Cramer calls it not that 'bad'
