SK Hynix told investors on Wednesday that memory demand will exceed supply through 2030, a forecast the Korean chipmaker issued alongside record third-quarter results and a plan to return about 100 trillion won to shareholders this year, according to its official earnings announcement.

HBM and DRAM sold out until 2029

The company framed the crunch as a supply-side problem. Leading-edge manufacturing processes continue to grow more difficult, and new fabs take years to build, meaning output cannot keep pace through 2030. Memory is also a concentrated industry — SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology are the main DRAM producers — and one that has historically moved through cycles of shortage and oversupply.

During its earnings call, SK Hynix said it has already sold out of its HBM and DRAM chips until 2029. Demand for HBM is currently double what the company can supply. HBM, or high-bandwidth memory, is DRAM stacked in vertical layers and mounted close to AI processors so data can move fast enough for the chips that train and run AI models.

In the short term, demand is being driven by AI for enterprises and consumers. Further out, the company expects physical AI applications such as autonomous driving and robotics to take over.

SK Hynix has long-term agreements with 14 large customers, including leading global cloud services providers. The volume locked in so far represents more than half of the company's total production capacity for 2027 and 2028. Most contracts run for five years, with prices set within a range agreed with each client as market conditions shift.

Quarterly revenue tops 100 trillion won for the first time

Third-quarter revenue reached 104.6155 trillion won, crossing the 100 trillion won mark for the first time. Operating profit was 83.3338 trillion won at an 80% margin, while net profit came to 39.7756 trillion won.

Revenue jumped 32% from 79.3187 trillion won in the second quarter, and operating profit rose 38% from 60.5426 trillion won.

DDR5 sales for servers led DRAM revenue, and HBM4 shipments got off to a strong start. DRAM is the main working memory in servers, PCs and smartphones. SK Hynix plans to run its M15X plant at full capacity by the end of the year to lift HBM4 output, and expects HBM4 to surpass HBM3E in both shipments and revenue in the fourth quarter — two near-term targets that mark the next measurable steps in its capacity build-out.

Cash and cash equivalents climbed to 114.5 trillion won, with net cash standing at 98.7 trillion won.

The planned 100 trillion won shareholder return comprises cash dividends of 30 trillion won or more, alongside buybacks and cancellations of 60 trillion won or more. That includes the 40 trillion won buyback announced in August and completed last week. The third-quarter dividend is 20,000 won per share, half of which is a special dividend funded by gains on the company's stake in Kioxia.

Solidigm IPO withdrawn

CEO Kwak Noh-Jung also explained why SK Hynix dropped an initial public offering of its US flash-memory unit Solidigm, a reversal Cryptopolitan reported on October 23. Kwak blamed market volatility and a slide in chip stocks for halting the IPO and a pre-IPO fundraising review.

"The IPO was intended to raise external capital for the expansion of Solidigm's production facilities," Kwak said. The company "concluded that proceeding at this time would not be the best way to achieve the originally anticipated outcome," he added.