SK Hynix posts record revenue and plans roughly $75 billion in shareholder returns

what happened

South Korea's SK Hynix reported record results and announced more than $23 billion in dividends and share buybacks. Stocktwits, citing the company's statement, reported the news. Seoul-listed shares climbed over 8% on Wednesday morning, lifting the Kospi by nearly 6%, while the U.S.-listed SKHY gained 6.6% in overnight trading.

Revenue for July to September rose 328% year over year and 32% from the previous quarter, to 104.6 trillion won, against analyst expectations of 98.34 trillion won. Operating profit reached 83.33 trillion won, compared with 76.72 trillion won a year earlier. The company also said it had sold out its DRAM and HBM chips until 2029 and expects shortages to persist through 2030.

In total, the company intends to return 100 trillion won, about $75.4 billion, to shareholders this year. That includes more than 30 trillion won in dividends and 20 trillion won in buybacks on top of the 40 trillion won program announced in August, which has already been completed.

why it matters

For markets, the signal is that memory demand and profit durability remain strong in a chip sector that has had a difficult stretch. Still, as of the last close SKHY was down 21% so far this month and 2.5% below its July listing price.

market impact

Korean chips: strong results and big payouts support SK Hynix shares and the Kospi index.

• ▲SK Hynix shares pressure up — record revenue and large shareholder payouts support demand for the stock
• ▲Kospi pressure up — gains in the largest chipmaker lift the index

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