Fueled by surging demand from the AI sector, SK Hynix reported its strongest-ever quarterly and annual performance on Wednesday, Jan. 22.
The record earnings reflect the firm’s rising dominance in the High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chip market, where it has pulled ahead of rivals Samsung and Micron in the race to deliver next-generation technology.
According to the company’s latest financial results, SK Hynix posted revenues of 15.7 trillion won in the final quarter of 2024, and annual revenues of 56.3 trillion won—a 103% year-over-year increase.
Driven by robust sales of HBM products and other advanced memory solutions, the firm’s annual revenues grew by 103% year-over-year.
SK Hynix forecasts that the demand for HBM chips, which are used in high-performance computing, will continue to increase as global investment in AI infrastructure grows.
To meet the needs of the industry, the firm said it plans to expand HBM3E production and roll out the first commercial HBM4 chips by the end of the year.
HBM chips are a specialized type of memory that can handle the immense processing demands of AI.
Unlike traditional DRAM, HBM chips can stacked vertically, allowing for faster data transfer and greater energy efficiency.
The fourth-generation HBM4 chips take these benefits even further, offering up to 50% higher bandwidth compared to their HBM3 predecessors while maintaining a compact design.
Since the HBM4 specifications were announced in July 2024, only a few firms have successfully manufactured the next-generation chips. But none of them have managed to commercially scale production yet.
The race to mass-produce HBM4 chips has become a fierce competition among the world’s top memory chip manufacturers. Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix have each invested heavily in the technology, aiming to lure big customers and capture a slice of the lucrative market.
Recent reports from South Korea suggest Samsung has started trial production of the logic dies used in HBM4. Despite the first units not originally being scheduled for delivery until the end of 2025, the firm reportedly now plans to ship the first samples to customers within six months.
An early headstart could boost Samsung’s position in a market where it has struggled with quality control and lost share to SK Hynix.
However, SK Hynix’s strong track record in the space has helped it secure key contracts, including sought-after deals with Nvidia, where it competes with Samsung.
According to a report from ZDNet, SK Hynix is planning to ship HBM4 samples to Nvidia as early as June 2025. Full-scale supply is expected to begin toward the end of the third quarter.
Nvidia reportedly plans to integrate these chips into its next-generation Rubin GPUs, which it now hopes to release ahead of the original 2026 schedule.
With the market for AI hardware booming, Sk Hynix’s collaboration with Nvidia represents a major victory for the firm, which is expected to drive even more revenue growth in the year ahead.