From Bloomberg October 27:
SK Hynix’s Profit Surge, $45 Billion Payout Fuel AI Rally
SK Hynix Inc. unveiled plans to return about SK Hynix Plans Total 100t Won Shareholder Return for 2026 more to shareholders after profit surged a stronger-than-expected seven-fold, reflecting the resilience of an AI infrastructure rollout that’s propelling chip demand.
The world’s second-biggest memory chipmaker reaffirmed it expects shortages of the components crucial to Nvidia Corp. accelerators to persist through at least 2030. Executives said they will invest heavily in expanding capacity, after selling out of conventional and high-bandwidth AI memory till 2029. That’s after SK Hynix reported a September-quarter operating profit of 83.3 trillion won ($62.5 billion), beating projections by more than 7%.
SK Hynix’s confidence in the industry’s outlook helped ignite a broader regional stock rally that propelled heavyweights from bigger rival Samsung Electronics Co. to Japan’s Kioxia Holdings Corp. and even China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. The multi-year order book reassured investors about the data center buildout, while suggesting memory prices haven’t yet peaked.
“Investors have been questioning both the durability of AI demand and how much of the earnings windfall would ultimately reach shareholders,” said Jung In Yun, chief executive officer at Fibonacci Asset Management Global. “Today’s announcement helps address both concerns.”
SK Hynix’s shares rose more than 10% in Seoul, while Samsung gained more than 9%. The results bolstered hopes for sustained profits from a surge in demand for memory from AI developers building data centers. That’s come under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks because of challenges in financing and setting up ambitious infrastructure projects....
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The KOSPI was up 6.63%, extending the five-day bounce to 11.28%, though still down over one and six months.
