$6.7 Billion Increase in Q4 Last Year
SK Hynix Jumps from 38th to 5th in Net Profit Growth
Amazon Tops the List with a $9.3 Billion Gain
SK Hynix, a leader in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, ranked 5th among global publicly traded companies in terms of net profit growth. This was thanks to strong HBM sales driven by the AI boom. While U.S. tech companies showed strong performance due to increased AI demand, companies related to the automotive and energy sectors experienced poor results due to intensified competition and falling raw material prices. However, there are concerns about whether tech companies, which have maintained strong performance despite the tariff onslaught from U.S. President Donald Trump, can sustain this trend.
On the 6th, Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) analyzed the fourth-quarter net profits of about 17,200 global publicly traded companies from Japan, the U.S., Europe, and China using data from financial information providers Quick and FactSet. SK Hynix’s net profit in the fourth quarter of last year increased by $6.7 billion compared to the same period the previous year (Q4 2023), jumping from 38th place to 5th place in net profit improvement rankings. Nikkei attributed this to increased sales of HBM, which is essential for running generative AI. Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturer), ranked 16th.
The company with the largest profit increase worldwide in Q4 last year was Amazon. Amazon posted a net profit of $20 billion in Q4, driven by strong cloud service business targeting companies utilizing AI. As a result, its net profit improvement ranking surged from 5th to 1st. Among major U.S. tech companies, Meta, which had a smooth AI-based advertising business, ranked 4th, and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, ranked 7th. Among Japanese companies, Toyota Motor Corporation ranked 10th, maintaining the pride of Japan’s manufacturing industry. Although Toyota’s operating profit declined due to decreased sales volume and increased costs, foreign exchange gains boosted its net profit. Except for South Korea’s SK Hynix, Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation, and Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, U.S. companies swept the top ranks in the ‘net profit improvement ranking.’
Tesla, led by Elon Musk, the top figure in the Trump administration, ranked 6th among companies with the largest deterioration in net losses, with net profit cut by 70% due to factors such as falling sales prices. Considering Tesla ranked 12th in net profit improvement in 2023, this represents a significant drop. U.S. General Motors (GM) also appeared on the list of companies with significantly increased net losses, ranking 9th. Nikkei pointed out that the automotive market environment is worsening due to the rise of Chinese automakers and intensified competition in the North American market.
The company with the largest decline in performance compared to a year ago was Berkshire Hathaway, led by U.S. investment guru Warren Buffett. This was due to investment profits plummeting from $29 billion in the previous year’s Q4 to $5.1 billion last year’s Q4. SoftBank Group ranked 3rd, as the profitability of its Vision Fund business deteriorated due to poor stock performance of its investment targets.
Energy-related companies struggled due to falling raw material prices. Brazil’s largest mining company Vale turned to a loss due to decreased iron ore prices and sales volume, and British energy giant BP returned to a loss due to a decline in refining margins caused by weakening crude oil demand.
Meanwhile, Nikkei reported that global corporate net profits increased by 20% year-on-year in Q4 last year. According to market forecasts compiled by Nikkei’s Quick and FactSet, net profits of major global companies (about 4,200) are expected to increase by 15% from January to March this year.
Shunsuke Kobayashi, chief economist at Mizuho Securities, pointed out, “The nominal growth rate of the global economy is likely to remain at a high level. However, there is significant uncertainty about the direction of tariff policies and how long profit growth in technology-related sectors will continue.”
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