SK Hynix Q2 recap: Demand, HBM and the memory supercycle

Introduction

SK hynix posted 79.3187 trillion won ($54.6B) in revenue and 60.5426 trillion won ($41.6B) in operating profit for Q2 2026, both records. And yet shares fell double digits after earnings. Most likely because investors focused on the headline revenue miss. Let me walk you through the quarter and highlight the most important parts.

1 - What SK hynix does

SK hynix is one of the world's largest memory chipmakers, producing DRAM and NAND flash chips that go into everything from smartphones to AI servers. The business line that matters most right now is HBM, high bandwidth memory, the specialized chip stacked directly next to AI accelerators like Nvidia's GPUs to feed them data fast enough to keep up.

Revenue is driven by a mix of shipment volumes and average selling prices, and right now pricing power sits almost entirely with whoever controls the tightest supply, which today is SK hynix and a small handful of peers.

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