SK Hynix's stock experienced a 6% decline on Monday, leading a broader chip sector downturn. This occurred despite the South Korean memory maker reporting record operating profit for 2025, more than doubling its earnings, primarily driven by surging demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) used in AI chipsets. The company's revenue for 2025 reached 97.147 trillion won, a nearly 50% increase from the previous year, with an operating profit of 47.206 trillion won.
The decline follows a strong debut on Friday, where its American depositary shares jumped almost 13% above the $149 offering price, raising $26.5 billion in the largest U.S. IPO by a foreign company. However, investor sentiment was weighed down by a South Korean brokerage report suggesting SK Hynix's current quarter operating profit might miss estimates. This prompted investors to take profits, amidst increasing concerns about potential trade tensions.
Key competitors like Samsung Electronics also saw their stock fall in South Korea. In the U.S., other AI memory stocks such as Micron, SanDisk, and Western Digital all dropped by approximately 5%. The broader semiconductor sector, including Intel, AMD, Broadcom, and Arm, also saw declines of roughly 2%. Analysts attribute SK Hynix's success to its leadership in HBM and strong overall memory competitiveness, with commodity DRAM also a significant earnings driver due to expanding margins and a structural supply shortage.
