SK Hynix just posted a quarter so absurd it makes its own recent history look like a rounding error. The South Korean memory chip maker reported Q1 2026 net profit of 40.3459 trillion won, a figure that surpasses the company’s entire revenue for fiscal year 2023, which clocked in at 32.766 trillion won.
The numbers behind the surge
Revenue for Q1 2026 came in at 52.5763 trillion won, roughly $35.5 billion. That represents 198% growth year-over-year, driven almost entirely by insatiable demand for high-bandwidth memory and other AI-optimized chips.
The operating profit hit 37.6103 trillion won, producing a record operating margin of 72%. For context, that margin was 58% just last quarter and 42% a year ago.
These results announced on April 22-23 mark a complete reversal from the company’s 2023 struggles, when the memory chip market was mired in oversupply and weak consumer electronics demand.
