SK Hynix shares tank as exponential earnings growth fails to satisfy AI-charged expectations

The logo of SK hynix is displayed on a glass wall during the 2026 World IT Show in Seoul on April 22, 2026.

SK Hynix shares nosedived on Wednesday as exponential second-quarter earnings and revenue growth still failed to satisfy analysts' supercharged expectations for an artificial-intelligence darling.

Here are SK Hynix's second-quarter results compared with LSEG SmartEstimates, which are weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate:

Revenue: 79.32 trillion won ($54.55 billion) vs. 84 trillion won expected

Operating profit: 60.54 trillion won vs. 64 trillion won expected

After falling as much as 15% earlier in the session, the stock trimmed its losses to close 9.6% lower on Wednesday.

Revenue jumped 257% year on year in the quarter ended June from a year earlier, while operating profit soared nearly 557% year on year, the company's release showed.

Compared with the previous quarter, revenue increased 51% while operating profit gained 61%.

The company said it saw sustained demand growth from expanding AI infrastructure investments, while high-performance products for AI servers led price increases that set a fresh record.

For the first time in company history, its cumulative revenue for the first half of the year exceeded 100 trillion won, underscoring robust AI demand.

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