SK Hynix just delivered the kind of earnings report most companies would frame and hang on the wall. Revenue up 257% year-over-year. Operating profit up 557%. Net profit that somehow exceeded total revenue. And the market’s response? A 10-15% selloff in Seoul trading.
The numbers behind the paradox
SK Hynix reported Q2 2026 revenue of 79.3 trillion won, a figure that represents a 51% increase from the prior quarter alone. Operating profit hit 60.5 trillion won, reflecting that eye-popping 557% year-over-year growth. Net profit came in at 93.9 trillion won, producing a net margin of 118%, which means the company effectively earned more in profit than it generated in revenue when accounting for non-operating income.
For the first time in the company’s history, first-half revenue crossed the 100 trillion won threshold.
The engine behind all of this is high-bandwidth memory, or HBM. SK Hynix has positioned itself as the dominant supplier of HBM products, including its HBM3E and the newer HBM4 lines. The company has locked in long-term supply agreements with roughly 10 key customers, Nvidia among them.
