SK Hynix revenue tops forecast Samsung outcomes, however | Inventory Information
By Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin
SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea’s SK Hynix forecast gross sales of its high-end semiconductors utilized in generative artificial intelligence chipsets would more than double this yr, after reporting a quarterly revenue report that beat a outcomes estimate for rival Samsung (KS:).
Shares in SK Hynix, a key provider to AI chip giant Nvidia (NASDAQ:), nonetheless, fell as a lot as 4.7% because the company warned of steeper demand declines in commodity reminiscence chips utilized in smartphones and computer systems as Chinese language competitors grows. The shares have since recovered to trade down 0.2% at noon.
SK’s manufacturing unit investment plan for high-bandwidth reminiscence (HBM) chips this yr additionally underwhelmed traders, analysts stated.
Earlier than the end result, SK Hynix shares had jumped about 30% this yr on bullish sentiment pushed by its business discussions with Nvidia, outperforming bigger competitor Samsung, whose shares rose 2% over the identical period.
“Uncertainties exist for the memory chip market this year as trade protectionism grows and geopolitical risks deepen, while PC and smartphone companies adjust inventories,” SK Hynix Chief Monetary Officer Kim Woo-hyun instructed analysts on an earnings call.
The company stated provide will stay tight for high-performance chips as a end result of rising demand, however demand declines will speed up for legacy merchandise.
Lee Min-hee, an analyst at BNK Funding & Securities, stated whereas fourth-quarter outcomes had been robust, SK Hynix’s forecast for first-quarter chip shipments was weaker than anticipated and disillusioned traders.
“I had forecasted just above 6 trillion won operating profit for Q1, but now I’m expecting around 5.5 trillion won,” Lee stated.
SK Hynix stated its shipments of DRAM and NAND flash reminiscence chips would decline by between 10% and 20% within the first quarter from the earlier quarter.
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The world’s second-biggest reminiscence chipmaker posted an working revenue of 8.1 trillion gained ($5.64 billion) within the October-December quarter, barely above expectations and exceeding Samsung’s estimated fourth-quarter working revenue of 6.5 trillion gained.
If the numbers maintain, this could be the primary time that SK Hynix’s quarterly working revenue beat Samsung’s whole working revenue, analysts stated, as its rival lags in supplying high-end high-bandwidth reminiscence (HBM) chips to Nvidia.
SK Hynix stated HBM chips accounted for 40% of its whole DRAM income within the fourth quarter. General, its income for the quarter rose 75% year-on-year to 19.8 trillion gained, whereas its working revenue was up more than 20-fold from a yr earlier when it was popping out of the largest chip industry downturn in over a decade.
The company has been more and more outperforming rivals Samsung and U.S.-based Micron Expertise (NASDAQ:) in latest quarters, because it advantages probably the most from AI-driven urge for food for high-end reminiscence chips following its early entry and huge investments in HBM chip development.
However SK Hynix instructed analysts its 2025 capital expenditure would rise solely barely from final yr, with investments specializing in HBM manufacturing and new factories in South Korea.
“SK Hynix’s conservative capex plan for HBM chips fuelled concerns about a slowdown in demand,” stated Jung Min-gyu, an analyst at Sangsangin Funding & Securities.
“The capex plan fell short of investor expectations for SK Hynix to sharply boost investments on HBM production,” he stated.
A SK Hynix government stated the company had already begun provide talks for 2026 for the HBM chips utilized in AI chipsets and anticipated to have higher visibility within the first half about cargo plans for subsequent yr.
“The AI industry has a potential to grow above most expectations and would require huge computing power. There’s no doubt about long-term demand for HBM chips,” the chief, Vice President Kim Ki-tae, head of HBM Gross sales & Advertising and marketing, stated.
SK Hynix stated it started provide of 12-layer HBM3E chips, probably the most superior HBM model at present in mass manufacturing, to a buyer within the fourth quarter.
It expects it should begin supplying even more superior 16-layer HBM4 chips within the second half of 2026 and that Chinese language rivals will face difficulties in developing superior chips because of U.S. restrictions.
($1 = 1,435.1200 gained)
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