Selling 100 Won, Earning 70... "SK hynix Is Rewriting Corporate History"

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[The Financial News] SK hynix, which posted an operating margin of more than 70%, is expected to deliver even stronger earnings growth in the second quarter, an analysis said on the 24th. SK hynix announced on the 23rd that it posted revenue of 52.5763 trillion won, operating profit of 37.6103 trillion won, and an operating margin of 71.5% in the first quarter of 2026.
That marked increases of 198.1% and 405.5%, respectively, from revenue of 17.6391 trillion won and operating profit of 7.4405 trillion won in the same period last year. Compared with the previous quarter, the fourth quarter of 2025, revenue rose 60.2% from 32.8267 trillion won, while operating profit jumped 96.2% from 19.1696 trillion won.
Kim Woon-ho, a researcher at IBK Securities Co., Ltd., said SK hynix's operating margin was an astonishing figure that exceeded both Nvidia Corporation's 65% and TSMC's 58.1%, which are currently among the highest in the world.
Kim said, "SK hynix's revenue in the second quarter is expected to rise 40.8% from the first quarter to 74 trillion won. It will still be a price-led growth phase." He added, "Operating profit is projected to increase 51.7% from the first quarter to 57 trillion won, helped by improved margins for each product, and the operating margin is estimated at 77.1%."
He also forecast that the memory semiconductor market will continue to grow this year, led by AI servers. "As memory semiconductors shift to a full-stack structure, demand is expanding from HBM to DRAM, and the explosive growth phase for NAND flash memory is approaching. There is still plenty of room for the memory semiconductor market to grow," he said.
Kim described it as a "long-term boom that will dispel debate over the business cycle" and maintained his buy rating on SK hynix, along with a target price of 1.8 million won.
fair@fnnews.com Han Young-joon Reporter