SK Hynix profit jumps 632% to a record, shares up 8% as AI memory maker pledges about $25 billion to investors

SK Hynix posted the biggest quarter in its history on Wednesday 28 October, beating forecasts by a wide margin and announcing more than $25 billion in new dividends and buybacks (a 14 trillion won dividend and a 20 trillion won buyback) within a wider plan to return about 100 trillion won to shareholders, CNBC reported. Its shares jumped more than 8% in Seoul, ahead of the Kospi's 6.25% rise.

The numbers

Revenue crossed 100 trillion won in a quarter for the first time. In rupees, the quarter's sales come to roughly Rs 21.8 trillion at today's rate of Rs 276.80 to the dollar.

Where the money goes

• At least 30 trillion won in cash dividends and 60 trillion won in buybacks and share cancellations, as part of the roughly 100 trillion won return.
• A third-quarter dividend of 14 trillion won, including a special dividend from gains on its stake in Japanese chipmaker Kioxia.
• A new 20 trillion won buyback, half of it cancelled this year, after a 40 trillion won buyback finished last week.
• A higher payout target: more than 50% of free cash flow from 2025 to 2027.

Chief executive Kwak Noh-Jung also said the company had stopped reviewing a pre-IPO funding round or listing for its US subsidiary Solidigm because of market volatility and the recent fall in chip shares.

AI memory is the engine

The profits come from HBM, high-bandwidth memory that sits beside AI processors in data centres. SK Hynix began mass production of HBM4, the sixth generation, in the third quarter and expects it to overtake HBM3E in shipments and revenue in the fourth. Shipments of server DDR5 rose more than 40% on the quarter, and it has long-term deals with 14 big customers covering more than half its 2027 and 2028 output. It expects demand to outrun supply through 2030.

What it means for buyers in Pakistan

The same shortage that is making SK Hynix rich is pushing up memory prices for everyone: the company said average DRAM selling prices rose by a high-20s percentage from the previous quarter. Memory is a big part of the cost of a phone or laptop, so higher chip prices tend to reach Pakistani shops through importers within months. Before you buy, compare current prices on our laptop price list and mobile price list, and check the PTA charge with the PTA tax calculator.

Correction, 28 October 2026: an earlier version equated the 100 trillion won return plan with $25 billion. The $25 billion is this quarter's 14 trillion won dividend and 20 trillion won buyback; the 100 trillion won is the wider plan.