Lead

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix said Thursday its revenue and profits for the first quarter reached record highs, driven by robust demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) and other memory segments. Net profit came to a record 40.34 trillion won (US$27.3 billion) for the January-March period, up 397.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the company's regulatory filing. Operating income soared 405.5 percent on-year to a record 37.61 trillion won, while sales shot up 198.1 percent to 52.57 trillion won.

The earnings exceeded market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 31.95 trillion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The latest gains mark the first time that a South Korean chipmaker posted quarterly sales above 50 trillion won, with revenue, operating profit, and net profit all reaching record highs.

Coverage Comparison

Coverage of the results varied in focus. Yonhap News Agency, in multiple dispatches, emphasized SK hynix's record-breaking figures and attributed the sharp growth to a rise in global prices of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), coupled with strong demand for high-end products in the AI server industry. France 24 highlighted Samsung Electronics' valuation reaching $1 trillion, linking the rise to strong demand for chips used to power artificial intelligence systems. The South China Morning Post placed more weight on the supply-side implications, reporting that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are warning of a prolonged and severe global supply crunch, with explosive AI demand pushing earnings to record levels.

A separate Yonhap analysis took a more cautious tone, arguing that the Korean economy must look beyond the semiconductor supercycle, citing challenges from the Middle East conflict and rising energy prices.

Key Claims

  • SK hynix's first-quarter net profit came to a record 40.34 trillion won (US$27.3 billion), up 397.6 percent from a year earlier, according to Yonhap News Agency.
  • Operating income soared 405.5 percent on-year to 37.61 trillion won; sales rose 198.1 percent to 52.57 trillion won, per the same source.
  • The earnings exceeded market expectations, with analysts' average net profit estimate at 31.95 trillion won, based on a Yonhap Infomax survey.
  • SK hynix attributed the growth to a rise in global DRAM prices and strong demand for high-end AI server products, saying that despite the first quarter being a seasonal downturn, demand persisted due to expanded AI infrastructure investments.
  • Samsung Electronics reported a record-setting 57.2 trillion won in operating profit for the first quarter, according to South China Morning Post and Yonhap News Agency.
  • Samsung's quarterly revenue jumped 69 percent year-on-year to 133.9 trillion won, with operating profit surging nearly eightfold, as reported by South China Morning Post.
  • Samsung's valuation reached $1 trillion, as reported by France 24.
  • South Korea's first-quarter GDP rose 1.7 percent, surpassing a market forecast of 0.9 percent, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Perspectives

SK hynix: The company says its record results are driven by robust demand for HBM and other memory products, and it expects global memory demand to expand across DRAM and NAND flash as AI evolves from large model training to agentic AI.

Samsung Electronics: Executives, cited in a South China Morning Post report, say order fulfilment rates have plunged to a 'record low' and that supply is far short of demand, with customers pre-booking memory capacity for 2027.

Yonhap News Agency editorial: An analysis piece argues that despite the record profits, the Korean economy must look beyond the semiconductor supercycle, citing uncertainties from the Middle East conflict and rising energy prices. It notes labor unions are demanding benefits matching the sector's stature and says firms need to find new growth engines.