SK Hynix Leans on HBM Pricing Power as Won Headwind Trims Near-Term Forecasts
Published on 10/01/2026 at 14:30 | Editorial boerse-global.de
South Korea's chipmakers booked a record month in September, with semiconductor exports climbing to an all-time high of USD 60.3 billion. The milestone landed alongside fresh results from Micron Technology that reinforced the bullish case for memory makers — and gave SK Hynix shares another push higher.
Micron posted record revenue of USD 54.23 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter and projected that demand will outstrip supply even more sharply in 2027 and 2028 than it has this year. The US rival also noted that more than three-quarters of its planned fiscal 2027 shipments are already locked into contracts, a level of visibility that analysts say underpins pricing across the high-performance segment.
Investors responded in kind. SK Hynix advanced 3.2% on Thursday to KRW 1,833,000.00, extending its year-to-date gain to 182%. The stock had already risen 2.1% earlier in the week to KRW 1,814,000.00, a session that left it up 179% since January.
Price Outlook Brightens for AI Memory
The buildout of data centers for artificial intelligence workloads continues to absorb manufacturing capacity worldwide. Because cutting-edge memory architectures are technically demanding to produce and consume significant wafer volume, industry watchers expect tight conditions in the high-performance tier to persist.
TrendForce estimates that average selling prices for High Bandwidth Memory will jump 121% in 2027. Modules from the HBM4 generation with 36 gigabytes of capacity are projected to climb from roughly USD 600 to about USD 1,300 apiece.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SK Hynix?
That pricing trajectory should keep profitability elevated. NH Investment reiterated its buy rating on SK Hynix on Thursday with a price target of KRW 3.4 million, pointing to the ramp of HBM4 shipments as a meaningful lift for average selling prices.
Currency Effects Take a Bite Out of Third-Quarter Estimates
Not everything points in one direction. Ahead of the company's interim results, South Korean brokerages trimmed their earnings projections to account for the won's appreciation against other currencies, which translates into lower reported figures for the third quarter.
NH Investment acknowledged that its third-quarter profit estimates sit below the market consensus, partly because of exchange-rate effects, while stressing that the longer-term framework remains intact. The currency drag, analysts argue, does nothing to erode underlying demand in the core business.
DS Investment & Securities flagged upcoming volume gains for the HBM4 generation and a renewed rise in memory prices toward year-end as the main catalysts for the fourth quarter, alongside long-term supply agreements with major customers.
SK Hynix has been showcasing its technology roadmap at industry events. At the TSMC OIP Conference, the company presented its next-generation memory portfolio, including High Bandwidth Memory, SOCAMM2 and enterprise SSDs. At its own Global Forum in Santa Clara, chief executive Kwak Noh-Jung outlined global research and production plans aimed at meeting growing AI-related demand.
Solidigm Listing Question Still Unresolved
Strategic questions about the company's subsidiaries have also drawn market attention. Roughly a week after reports surfaced about a possible US listing for Solidigm, SK Hynix said no decision has been made on an overseas flotation or on financing routes.
Management emphasized that any review of investments in capacity and technology will put long-term corporate value and the interests of existing shareholders first. The company said it is weighing various options to strengthen Solidigm's competitiveness and will carefully assess the impact on shareholders, examining investor protections should it pursue concrete steps.
The Korean shareholder association ACT had warned that a separate listing of the US subsidiary could widen the valuation discount and dilute existing holders, and said it would seek a review of relevant safeguard procedures with the Korea Exchange.
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