SEOUL, April 16 (AJP) - After Samsung Electronics’ mind-blowing first-quarter numbers, its memory-focused rival SK hynix will be closely watched to see whether its three-month earnings can match — or even eclipse — expectations when it reports January–March results next week.
According to financial data tracker FnGuide, the consensus among domestic brokerages estimates SK hynix’s operating profit for the period at 34.9 trillion won ($24.8 billion), with quarterly revenue projected to reach a record 50.13 trillion won.
The heightened expectations follow Samsung Electronics’ preliminary estimate of 57.2 trillion won in first-quarter operating profit — a figure that surpassed its full-year 2025 earnings of 43.6 trillion won and reset the bar for the sector.
Investors are now watching whether SK hynix can deliver a similar upside surprise, particularly given its heavier exposure to memory chips. Its full-year income for 2025 was record 47.2 trillion won.
For the fourth quarter, it reported quarterly high of 19.17 trillion won in operating profit on revenue of 32.83 trillion won.
SK hynix has emerged as a dominant player in high bandwidth memory (HBM), commanding nearly 57 percent of the market as of the fourth quarter of 2025. HBM, a critical component for AI accelerators such as Nvidia chips, has seen explosive demand from hyperscale data centers.
That surge has strained cleanroom capacity, as HBM production requires roughly three times the resources of standard DRAM. The resulting supply constraints, combined with aggressive stockpiling, have pushed memory prices sharply higher — rising an estimated 90 to 95 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter.
Brokerages have been quick to revise target prices and earnings forecasts upward, citing tighter-than-expected supply of conventional memory and SK hynix’s pricing power in HBM.
Mirae Asset Securities maintained its target price at 1.54 million won, projecting a higher first-quarter operating profit of 36.7 trillion won.
“Elevated price levels are expected to persist due to irreversible specification upgrades in smartphones, polarized supply-demand conditions, and structural limits to capacity expansion,” said Kim Young-gun, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities. “This should support sustained high returns on equity.”
Analysts say the AI boom is now lifting the broader memory portfolio, not just premium HBM products.
Pak Yu-ak of Kiwoom Securities raised his target price to 1.3 million won, noting that strong AI-driven demand is spilling over into mobile memory, including LPDDR5X and UFS.
Still, he cautioned that the cycle may be entering a new phase.
“As the memory semiconductor cycle shifts from price increases to shipment growth, the stock’s trajectory over the next six months could differ from the past half-year,” Pak said.
Shares of SK hynix closed Thursday up 1.7 percent at 1,155,000 won.
Some analysts argue the current rally reflects more than a typical cyclical upswing, pointing instead to a structural shift in the industry.
“Robust growth is highly likely to continue amid limited supply increases,” said Ryu Young-ho of NH Investment & Securities. He added that SK hynix’s partnership with TSMC would be key to developing next-generation, high-efficiency memory solutions.
With earnings projections reaching unprecedented levels, internal expectations are also rising. Under SK hynix’s profit-sharing structure — which allocates roughly 10 percent of operating profit to bonuses — employees are bracing for potentially record payouts if the current upcycle holds.
SK hynix will release its first-quarter earnings and hold a conference call on April 23.
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