SK Hynix Surpasses Samsung in Annual Profits for the First Time

SK Hynix Surpasses Samsung in Operating Profit, Cementing AI Chip Dominance

Seoul, South Korea – In a significant shift within the semiconductor industry, SK Hynix has reported its operating profit for 2025, outpacing its domestic rival, Samsung Electronics, for the first time. This milestone achievement is largely attributed to SK Hynix’s commanding lead in the production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a critical component for artificial intelligence processors and high-performance computing.

The full-year results, released on Wednesday, show SK Hynix posting a record operating profit of 47.2 trillion won. This figure edges out Samsung’s reported 43.6 trillion won, highlighting SK Hynix’s strategic positioning and execution in the rapidly expanding AI hardware market. This competitive triumph is a testament to the company’s focused strategy since its acquisition by SK Telecom in 2012, a move that has propelled it to the forefront of memory chip innovation.

While Samsung Electronics operates a diversified business portfolio, including consumer electronics and foundry services, SK Hynix has maintained a laser focus on the memory segment. This specialization has proven particularly advantageous in the current technological landscape. Samsung’s memory division, in contrast, generated an operating profit of approximately 24.9 trillion won for the same period.

SK Hynix’s ascendance is intrinsically linked to its leadership in HBM technology. These specialized memory chips are integral to the performance of AI accelerators and the robust server infrastructure powering cloud computing and machine learning. The company’s ability to consistently supply high-quality HBM has made it an indispensable partner for major AI chip designers.

“SK Hynix has clearly established itself as a premier ‘AI Winner’ in Asia,” noted MS Hwang, research director at Counterpoint Research. “Its advantage in the quality and supply of HBM and other AI server-centric components has been a pivotal factor driving its success amidst the current AI infrastructure boom.” Hwang added that despite Samsung regaining the top spot in overall memory revenue rankings in the fourth quarter of 2025, SK Hynix has consistently maintained its lead in the critical HBM segment.

However, the competitive landscape is intensifying. While SK Hynix secured an early lead in HBM and captured a substantial portion of the supply contracts for next-generation AI chips, key rivals like Samsung and Micron Technology are making significant strides. Samsung has ramped up its HBM sales and is on track to introduce its HBM4 products this year, marking the sixth generation of this advanced memory technology.

“We anticipate a considerable turnaround for Samsung with its HBM4 offerings, particularly for new product lines, which should help them move past some of the quality concerns encountered previously,” commented Ray Wang, an analyst at SemiAnalysis specializing in the memory and AI supply chain.

Despite this growing competition, industry analysts largely expect SK Hynix to retain a dominant market share in HBM4 and sustain its overall leadership position. “The HBM4 race is primarily between SK Hynix and Samsung, as we believe these two companies are more competitive than Micron in this specific arena,” Wang elaborated. “While SK Hynix is projected to maintain its lead, Samsung is expected to make substantial progress, becoming significantly more competitive in HBM4 compared to earlier generations.”

Reports indicate that SK Hynix has secured over two-thirds of the HBM supply orders for Nvidia’s upcoming Vera Rubin products. Earlier market analyses from Counterpoint Research estimated SK Hynix held a leading 57% revenue share in the HBM market in the third quarter of the previous year, compared to Samsung’s 22%. This leadership extends to the broader DRAM market, which provides temporary data storage essential for a wide array of computing devices, from personal computers to large-scale data centers.