SK hynix shares surged in Seoul trading after the company confirmed record second-quarter revenue and operating profit, cementing its position as the primary beneficiary of the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom.
The memory chip giant reported an operating profit of 60.5 trillion won ($43.7 billion) for the period, a figure that significantly exceeded market expectations and highlighted the extraordinary margins available in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) segment.
The stock climbed sharply in the session, outperforming the broader Kospi index as investors repriced the company's valuation based on the sustained demand for advanced memory chips.
The rally extended to other semiconductor peers, with the sector benefiting from the confirmation that AI-driven data center build-outs are continuing to accelerate rather than plateau.
Trading volume spiked as institutional investors adjusted positions to reflect the new earnings baseline.
The results validate the strategic pivot by SK hynix toward high-margin HBM products, which are critical components for Nvidia's latest AI accelerators.
While competitors have struggled with legacy memory cycles, SK hynix has captured a dominant share of the HBM market, allowing it to command premium pricing and secure long-term supply agreements with major cloud providers.