SK Hynix (000660.KS) drops 9% despite Q2 operating profit of KRW 60.5T

KRW 60.5426T of Q2 operating profit was not enough to protect SK Hynix (000660.KS) from an earnings-day stock decline of about 9%. The company reported July 29 K-IFRS results with revenue of KRW 79.3187T, operating profit of KRW 60.5426T, net income of KRW 93.9226T, and a 76% operating margin.

The headline tension is expectation versus record output. SK Hynix said revenue rose 257% year over year and operating profit rose 557%, while first-half revenue exceeded KRW 100T for the first time. CNBC's fresh RSS item tied the share decline to AI-memory expectations that had already priced in extremely high HBM and server DRAM growth.

Metric | Q2 2026 | QoQ | YoY
Revenue | KRW 79,318.7B | +51% | +257%
Operating profit | KRW 60,542.6B | +61% | +557%
Operating margin | 76% | +4 percentage points | +35 percentage points
Net income | KRW 93,922.6B | +133% | +1,242%

The operational driver remains AI memory. SK Hynix said high-performance products for AI servers led price increases, and it cited high-value DRAM, HBM, and eSSD sales. The release also said HBM4 began mass shipments in Q2, HBM4E samples were shipped in the first half, and long-term agreements are in place with around 10 key customers.

The balance-sheet numbers widened the debate about capital returns. Cash and cash equivalents rose by KRW 33.6T from the prior quarter to KRW 88T, total debt fell by KRW 0.7T to KRW 18.6T, and net cash reached KRW 69.4T. For investors, the next checkpoint is whether second-half HBM4 ramp volume and any customer-contract disclosure can turn record earnings into a less demanding expectations base.