SK Hynix stunned the market with a 557% jump in operating profit for Q2 to 60.5 trillion won ($41.6 billion), hitting record revenue of 79.3 trillion won ($54.5 billion). Still, the numbers fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, dragging the stock down almost 9% on Nasdaq, where it recently debuted as an ADR.
The semiconductor giant posted a 76% operating margin, an all-time high, and net profit soared 1,242% to 93.9 trillion won ($64.6 billion), thanks largely to one-off investment gains. Investors had hoped for even stronger results, with analysts forecasting 64.2 trillion won in operating profit and 83.9 trillion won in revenue. That disappointment hit SKHY shares hard, continuing the selloff that erased over $500 billion in market value since June amid fears over the sustainability of AI-driven tech demand.
On the bright side, SK Hynix has secured long-term supply deals with about 10 major customers and begun mass shipments of its latest HBM4 memory modules. The company is also expanding production capabilities at its M15X and Yongin plants, aiming to meet growing demand. Looking ahead, SK Hynix expects DRAM shipments to increase by roughly 10% in Q3 and NAND shipments by about 3%. For the full year, the company anticipates 25% growth in DRAM demand and 18% in NAND.
Capital expenditure for 2026 is planned towards the high end of the 40 trillion won target, signaling confidence in future growth despite recent stock volatility. CNBC commentator Jim Cramer warned against reading too much into the earnings miss, calling the selloff an overreaction and urging investors to keep faith in the company’s strong fundamentals.
