SK Hynix Surpasses Samsung with AI and HBM Strength

 

 

 

 

SK Hynix is achieving record-breaking performance by solidifying its dominant position in the semiconductor industry through expanded demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and technological strength in high-bandwidth memory (HBM).

In the fourth quarter of last year, SK Hynix’s operating profit surpassed that of Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor division and even exceeded Samsung’s overall performance.

According to SK Hynix’s announcement on the 23rd, its operating profit for the third quarter of last year reached KRW 8.08 trillion, a 15% increase from the previous quarter’s KRW 7.03 trillion, marking a new quarterly record.

With a provisional operating profit of KRW 6.5 trillion for Samsung Electronics in the fourth quarter of last year, SK Hynix outpaced it by approximately KRW 1.5 trillion, likely claiming the top spot for operating profit among Korean listed companies.

SK Hynix’s annual operating profit also reached KRW 23.4673 trillion, significantly outperforming the annual cumulative performance of Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor division (DS Division).

This performance gap is attributed to SK Hynix’s leadership in HBM technology, which is essential for AI chips.

Despite the global economic downturn and weak IT market demand, SK Hynix secured profitability based on its HBM technology.

HBM’s average selling price (ASP) is three to five times higher than that of general DRAM, significantly contributing to profitability.

Kwangjin Kim, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities, stated, “The increase in sales of high-performance products such as HBM3E and favorable exchange rate effects are the main factors supporting SK Hynix’s performance,” adding that “SK Hynix is likely to maintain its leading position in the HBM market for the foreseeable future.”

SK Hynix further strengthened its market competitiveness through its partnership with NVIDIA, a key player in the AI semiconductor ecosystem.

SK Hynix exclusively supplies HBM for NVIDIA’s GPUs and increased the HBM proportion in DRAM sales to over 40% in the fourth quarter of 2023.

TSMC, also part of NVIDIA’s supply chain, recorded its highest-ever quarterly performance in the fourth quarter of last year.

TSMC’s net profit for the period reached TWD 374.6 billion (approximately KRW 16.57 trillion), a 57.2% increase from the same period in the previous year.

While Samsung Electronics remains the global leader in the memory market, it is considered a latecomer in the HBM field.

The lower proportion of HBM sales has particularly hindered Samsung Electronics from closing the gap with SK Hynix.

Seungwoo Lee, head of the research center at Eugene Investment & Securities, commented, “HBM’s share of the production cost for new GPU products will further increase,” adding, “AI responsiveness will be a key variable for semiconductor industry performance this year.”

출처 : 산경투데이 https://www.sankyungtoday.com

 

 

https://www.sankyungtoday.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=50292

SK Hynix Surpasses Samsung with AI and HBM Strength