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SK Hynix said aggressive AI investments by global big technology companies led to a steady increase in demand for AI memory chips, including 12-layer HBM3E products.
SK Hynix, the main supplier of high-bandwidth-memory products for Nvidia, plans to increase spending this year to meet strong demand for artificial-intelligence chips that helped it achieve a record second quarter.
The South Korean memory-chip maker said Thursday that aggressive AI investments by global big technology companies led to a steady increase in demand for AI memory chips, including 12-layer HBM3E products. Shipments of both DRAM and NAND flash memory products were higher than expected, it said.
“Our total investment for this year is expected to increase compared to the previous plans,” an SK Hynix executive said in an earnings call. “Some proactive investment this year is necessary to ensure timely support of our HBM products.”
Seeking to ease market concerns about a possible slowdown in AI chip demand, he assured investors of the “low likelihood” of any sharp correction, citing new product launches by clients scheduled for the second half of this year.
“Our plan to double HBM sales year-over-year remains unchanged,” he said, reaffirming SK Hynix’s plan to open a new South Korea plant in the final quarter of 2025 to produce DRAM and HBM products from next year. Construction of another South Korea plant is on track for completion in the second quarter of 2027, he said.
SK Hynix has said it expects brisk HBM demand to continue through 2025, given the current AI boom, which requires high-performance chips.
On Thursday, it posted net profit of 6.996 trillion won, equivalent to $5.09 billion, for the three months ended June, up 70% from a year earlier. That missed the 7.087 trillion won consensus estimate of analysts in a FactSet poll.
Revenue rose 35% to a quarterly record of 22.232 trillion won. Operating profit jumped 67% to 9.213 trillion won, also a record and beating bigger rival Samsung Electronics’ estimated 4.6 trillion won for the quarter.
SK Hynix has had an edge over its rival HBM manufacturers, benefiting from the boom in the premium chip segment. The stock has climbed 55% so far this year, outperforming the local benchmark Kospi’s year-to-date gain of 33%.
The company plans to mass produce new, cutting-edge HBM4 products in the second half of 2025, potentially widening its lead over Samsung and Micron Technology. SK Hynix pulled ahead of its competitors after it began mass production of 12-layer HBM3E products for Nvidia last year.
Some analysts, however, have turned cautious on the South Korean chip maker following its blistering share-price rally. Goldman Sachs last week warned that SK Hynix’s earnings growth could lose steam in 2026 on a possible decline in HBM product prices.
Goldman downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, citing the likelihood of fiercer competition in the HBM market and less favorable supply-demand conditions from next year.
President Trump’s erratic trade policies also pose a threat to SK Hynix’s outlook. South Korea faces a so-called reciprocal tariff of 25% if the country fails to reach a trade deal with the Trump administration by Aug. 1.
Trade officials from both sides are set to resume negotiations in Washington later this week as Seoul seeks to avoid or lower the blanket U.S. tariffs.
The U.S. leader has also threatened to impose a separate duty on semiconductors, in addition to levies on autos, steel and aluminum imports.
Meanwhile, Trump has decided to allow Nvidia to export its H20 AI chips, which use less advanced HBM products, to China. The move marked a reversal in policy from the Commerce Department, which in April restricted sales of the chip to Chinese customers.
