SK Hynix Posts Record Q3 Revenue and Warns of Memory Shortages

While SK Hynix achieved record revenue in the third quarter, it warned the industry that memory shortages will continue until 2030. HBM4 and artificial intelligence memories stand out.

South Korean technology giant SK Hynix announced in its financial report for the third quarter of 2026 that it reached the highest revenue figures in its history. The company managed to exceed the 100 trillion threshold for the first time by generating a revenue of 104.6 trillion KRW in this period. With this record revenue, SK Hynix proved its operational success by achieving a very high operating profit margin of 80%. However, the company made an important warning in the shadow of this strong financial picture, stating that it predicts that the global memory shortage problem may continue until 2030.

Financial Successes and HBM Market Growth Continues

The 39.8 trillion KRW net profit achieved by the company reveals the accuracy of its strategies for market leadership. The rapid increase in sales volume of high-bandwidth HBM4 memories, developed especially for artificial intelligence servers, was one of the cornerstones of this financial success. Company management estimates that as of the next quarter, HBM4 will become the main product, leaving behind the HBM3E series.

New Factory Investments and Production Capacity Increases

The demand for Server DDR5 RAM and LPDDR5 SOCAMM modules produced for artificial intelligence servers continues to strain the company's production capacity. The M15X factory, which is planned to reach full capacity by the end of the year, aims to meet the need for 1b DRAM chips by producing 55,000 to 60,000 wafers per month. In addition, the production share of the more efficient and faster 1c DRAM technology is also increasing rapidly.

On the NAND flash side, 321-layer TLC chips play a critical role for the embedded SSD market. The company also continues to work on HBF (High Bandwidth Flash) technology to increase the data processing capacity of artificial intelligence models.

Memory Shortage Affects Sectoral Planning

The statement made by SK Hynix reveals a situation that creates concern in the semiconductor world. Although the company is rapidly increasing its production capacity, it predicts that memory shortage will continue until 2030. Corporate and individual artificial intelligence applications in the short term, and autonomous driving technologies and robotic systems in the long term, stand out as the main factors fueling this demand.

Solidigm IPO Plans Canceled

Company CEO Kwak Noh-Jung announced that Solidigm's public offering process has been stopped. Considering market conditions and financial balances, it was decided that this step was not the best decision for now. SK Hynix will focus on using its existing resources to expand its internal capacity and protect shareholder returns.