SK Hynix Surpasses Samsung in Operating Profit Milestone
In 2025, SK Hynix made more money from operations than Samsung Electronics for the 1st time. SK Hynix made a record operating profit of ₩47.2 trillion this year. During the same time period, Samsung made ₩43.6 trillion in operating profit.
The outcome marks a historic change in the leadership of South Korea’s tech sector. Since becoming profitable again, SK Hynix has steadily improved its position in the market. The profit gap shows that the companies are exposed to different levels of demand driven by AI.
Source: The Korea Herald/Website
Focused Memory Strategy Gives SK Hynix Advantage
SK Hynix is mostly a memory semiconductor company. This focus helped it make the most of the growing demand for AI chips. Samsung’s memory segment profits were hurt by the company’s many other businesses.
Samsung makes money by making consumer electronics on contract and selling displays. These businesses helped keep things stable, but they also made it harder to make money. SK Hynix profited from simply being exposed to memory pricing cycles.
High Bandwidth Memory Leadership Powers Earnings Growth
SK Hynix is the leader in high-bandwidth memory for AI systems. AI accelerators and data center servers need HBM chips to work. As spending on AI infrastructure around the world sped up, demand rose.
Nvidia’s advanced processors depend a lot on HBM. SK Hynix got most of Nvidia’s memory supply contracts. This relationship led directly to higher profits and sales.
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Analysts Label SK Hynix an AI Infrastructure Winner
Analysts in the field said that SK Hynix was clearly benefiting from the rise of AI. Research companies pointed out its high quality and leadership in the supply of advanced memory products. The company kept up its good work even when demand was very high.
Analysts said that SK Hynix stayed in the lead even though Samsung briefly regained its share of memory revenue. Discipline in the workplace helped keep profits safe. This consistency made investors even more sure of SK Hynix’s plan.
Competition Intensifies as Rivals Chase HBM Leadership
Even though SK Hynix is ahead, competition in high-bandwidth memory is growing. Samsung sold more HBM and sped up the creation of new products. Micron is also still spending money to close technology gaps.
This year, Samsung plans to start shipping HBM4 products. After earlier problems, analysts think the quality of the products will get better. As demand for AI stays high, competition is expected to get tougher.
SK Hynix Expected to Retain Dominance in Next Cycle
Most analysts still think that SK Hynix will stay on top in HBM4. Having early customers and a large manufacturing base are both good things. It is expected that market share will stay high through the next few AI product cycles.
Reports say that SK Hynix got more than 2/3 of the HBM supply for Nvidia’s next generation platforms. These kinds of promises make long-term visibility stronger. Competitors have a hard time meeting both volume and performance needs at the same time.
Broader Memory Markets Reinforce SK Hynix Momentum
SK Hynix also did better than the rest of the DRAM market. Across computers and data centers, DRAM chips allow for temporary data storage. AI workloads keep making memory capacity needs go up.
Long-term earnings growth is supported by steady demand for HBM and DRAM. SK Hynix’s focused strategy fits well with the growth of AI infrastructure. The profit milestone means that things have changed for good, not just for a short time.
