In a remarkable week, the titans of the near-$1 trillion global memory industry smashed profit records. It took days before investors stopped selling — a testament to the depth of anxiety in markets about an AI bubble.
In the June quarter, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix — whose revenues make up 80% of the memory sector — generated a staggering 150 trillion won ($104 billion) in combined operating profit in a single quarter, driven almost entirely by AI’s demand for advanced memory and storage devices. For the full year, SK Hynix alone is projected to earn more in profits than it has made in the prior 27 years combined.
Customers are vying to secure multiyear supply contracts, executives said. Margins surged past advanced chip manufacturing leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s.