Chipmaker SK Hynix posts record second-quarter profit

Release time:2018-07-26
author:Ameya360
source:CNBC
reading:4426

Chipmaker SK Hynix posts record second-quarter profit

SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images

South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix posted record second-quarter operating profit on Thursday, beating market expectations thanks to strong sales of DRAM chips for servers.

The world's No. 2 memory chipmaker said operating profit for April-June grew 83 percent to 5.6 trillion won ($5 billion) from 3.1 trillion won a year earlier.

That compared with a 5.4 trillion won Thomson Reuters StarMine SmartEstimate from a survey of 21 analysts.

Revenue for the period rose 55 percent from a year earlier to a record 10.4 trillion won, the company said.

SK Hynix stock rose 1 percent on the result, after sliding more than 7 percent since Monday on analyst forecasts of a slowdown in DRAM sector performance.

The results come as an industry-wide shift to new production technology raises market fears of oversupply that could spell the end of a cycle of strong price growth that has underpinned record profits for the past two years.

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SK hynix Reportedly Pulls Forward HBM4E Sample Timeline, Eyeing June–July Shipments to Key Customers
  Samsung announced the start of HBM4E sampling in late May and later unveiled an HBM5 mock-up for the first time at COMPUTEX 2026. Against this backdrop, rival SK hynix is also stepping up its next-generation HBM push, with South Korean media outlet Newsis reporting that the memory giant has secured positive results in HBM4E development and is nearing sample shipments to key customers.  Notably, certain analysts cited by the report expect SK hynix to begin HBM4E sample shipments as early as this month, or by July at the latest. The company had previously guided that sampling would start in the second half of the year, suggesting the timeline is now being pulled forward, the report adds.  As Newsis notes, next-generation HBM is highly customized for customers, and earlier sample shipments enable faster performance validation and optimization—ultimately translating into a strategic edge in securing final mass production orders.  Beyond sampling timelines, broader supply and pricing dynamics are also shifting, which may give early movers key advantages. According to TrendForce, as the market enters 2Q26, negotiations between buyers and suppliers have shifted toward HBM4 supply agreements for 2027, which is expected to become the market’s mainstream project generation. The shift underscores how both Samsung and SK hynix are accelerating HBM4 and HBM4E development amid tightening market cycles.  SK hynix HBM4E Specs Under Spotlight  As highlighted by Newsis, SK hynix’s HBM4E is likely to be used in NVIDIA’s next-generation AI accelerator, Rubin Ultra, set for release next year. In line with this platform upgrade, TrendForce notes that NVIDIA’s Rubin Ultra is expected to further increase HBM capacity per GPU to 384GB.  Against this backdrop of rising system-level requirements, HBM4E specifications are also being pushed higher across the stack. According to Newsis, SK hynix’s HBM4E core die is expected to adopt a 1c DRAM process node, compared with the 1b node used in HBM4. In addition, The Chosun Daily previously reported that the company is likely to use TSMC’s 3nm process for its HBM4E logic die, aiming to challenge Samsung’s 4nm design.  On the competitive front, Samsung Electronics completed the world’s first shipment of HBM4E samples in late May, supplying them to NVIDIA, according to Yonhap News.  Samsung’s HBM4E combines a 1c DRAM core die with a 4nm foundry-based base die, delivering speeds of up to 14Gbps per pin and peaking at 16Gbps, equivalent to a maximum bandwidth of 4TB/s, the report notes.
2026-06-16 10:43 reading:307
SK hynix Reportedly to Double DRAM Capacity to 1M Monthly Wafers by 2030, Speeds Yongin Expansion
  TrendForce  SK hynix is reportedly preparing a major DRAM capacity expansion. According to The Elec, the company has shared plans with key suppliers to nearly double its DRAM wafer production capacity by 2030–2031 from current levels. The plan aligns with comments made by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won at Computex 2026, where he said the company would “double overall wafer production capacity within five years at full speed.”  The report says SK hynix aims to raise monthly DRAM wafer capacity from about 550,000 wafers today to roughly 1 million wafers by 2030. The current figure includes around 200,000 wafers per month from its Wuxi fab in China.  Much of the expansion will be centered on the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster. According to the report, SK hynix plans to divide its first Yongin fab into six cleanrooms and has moved up the first equipment installation schedule from May 2027 to February 2027. The fab is expected to add 360,000 wafers per month of DRAM capacity by the first half of 2030.  SK hynix is also expanding its M15X fab in Cheongju. The report says the facility is scheduled to begin operations in the second half of 2026 with an initial capacity of 40,000 wafers per month, rising to about 80,000 wafers per month in 2027.  Combined with the additional output from Yongin, SK hynix’s total DRAM wafer input capacity could approach 1 million wafers per month between 2030 and 2031, according to the report.  Notably, all newly added capacity is currently designated for DRAM production, the report notes. For NAND flash, SK hynix is expected to focus on technology upgrades, such as increasing layer counts, rather than significant capacity expansion.  Equipment Suppliers See Near-Term Gains, but Remain Cautious  The expansion of the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster is drawing a growing number of semiconductor equipment and materials suppliers. According to iNews24, equipment and materials suppliers continue to move into the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster. South Korean materials, parts, and equipment firms, along with ASML, Lam Research, and Tokyo Electron Korea, have either relocated or are in the process of moving in.  However, The Elec notes that suppliers remain cautious about execution given the scale and pace of the expansion plan. Supplier sources cited by the report said the increased investment is expected to provide a meaningful near-term boost for equipment and materials vendors, though achieving the full expansion target will ultimately depend on whether market demand remains strong enough to support it.  Samsung Also Accelerating DRAM Expansion  As for Samsung, according to Digital Daily, Samsung Electronics is accelerating DRAM capacity expansion at its P4 fab in Pyeongtaek by bringing forward its investment schedule. The report says Samsung’s DRAM investment next year could increase by roughly 10,000 wafers per month above previous estimates. Some industry observers also expect Samsung to begin issuing purchase orders for the P5 line from the second quarter of next year, potentially supporting investment equivalent to 150,000 wafers per month in 2027.
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SK hynix Introduces iHBM Solution, Targets HBM5 Adoption with 30% Thermal Resistance Reduction
  As thermal management emerges as a key challenge for HBM, SK hynix has unveiled its iHBM solution, which integrates cooling elements (ICEs) directly into the HBM package. The company plans to adopt the technology in next-generation products, including HBM5, according to its press release.  According to SK hynix, unlike conventional HBM designs that dissipate heat through the core die, iHBM integrates cooling elements (ICEs), made of thermally conductive, electrically non-conductive silicon-based materials, directly into the D2D PHY between HBM and GPUs, where heat is most concentrated. The company said the technology reduces thermal resistance by 30% and improves operating stability.  As highlighted by SK hynix, the iHBM solution adopts a structural approach to thermal management by creating an additional heat dissipation path within the package. It also leverages the company’s wafer-level packaging (WLP) process and proven MR-MUF technology to enable stable high-volume manufacturing.  In addition, its compatibility with existing System-in-Package (SiP) architectures allows customers to adopt the thermal solution with minimal design modifications, SK hynix adds.  In terms of future roadmap, SK hynix plans to incorporate the iHBM solution into next-generation HBM products, including HBM5, with the goal of improving the stability and efficiency of HPC systems and AI data centers.  Another Key Technology beyond Hybrid Bonding  Alongside SK hynix’s latest iHBM solution, hybrid bonding is widely seen as a key approach to addressing heat dissipation challenges in 20-stack HBM, which, as previously reported by The Elec, are expected to become increasingly difficult.  As explained in the report, hybrid bonding differs from conventional thermo-compression (TC) bonding, which connects chips through soldered micro-bumps. Instead, it bonds dielectric materials such as silicon dioxide (SiO₂) and copper through an annealing process at temperatures of roughly 200°C to 400°C.  By heating and gradually cooling copper sealed within dielectric layers, thermal expansion and vertical pressure enable direct copper-to-copper diffusion bonding without reaching copper’s melting point, the report notes, adding this approach helps reduce thermal damage to semiconductor circuits while delivering improved thermal and electrical performance.
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