SK Hynix "HBM Volume for Next Year to be Completed by First Half of This Year"

This Year's Supply Already Sold Out, Next Year's Supply Expected to Sell Out as Well
Micron Raises DRAM Prices in the U.S.... "We Will Respond Flexibly"
Capacity Expansion Continues at Cheongju and Yongin HBM Production Sites

SK Hynix announced that it has 'sold out' its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) supply for this year and plans to complete negotiations with customers on next year's supply within the first half of this year.

On the morning of the 27th, at the 77th regular shareholders' meeting held at the Suprex Hall of SK Hynix headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, SK Hynix President Kwak No-jeong stated, "Due to the characteristics of HBM products, which require high investment costs and long production periods, we are increasing sales visibility through prior volume negotiations with customers," adding, "We will finalize negotiations with customers on next year's HBM volume within the first half of this year to further strengthen sales stability."

Kwak No-jeong, President of SK Hynix, is speaking at the 77th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on the 27th at the Suprex Hall of SK Hynix headquarters in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by SK Hynix

SK Hynix has already 'sold out' its HBM volume for this year. The company is currently supplying its main product, the HBM3E (5th generation) 12-stack product, to major customers including Nvidia, and has also supplied HBM4 (6th generation) 12-stack samples to key customers, aiming for mass production of HBM4 12-stack products in the second half of this year.

President Kwak's statement is interpreted as expressing confidence that next year's volume will also be sold out within the first half of this year, following the complete sell-out of this year's volume. This is expected to include both HBM3E 12-stack and HBM4 12-stack products.

He said, "Although uncertainties remain high due to the continuous downward revision of global economic growth forecasts, investments by big tech companies to secure leadership in the artificial intelligence (AI) market are expanding," adding, "With the increase in graphics processing units (GPUs) and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), explosive growth in HBM demand is also expected." He further predicted, "The HBM market this year will grow more than 8.8 times compared to 2023, and the enterprise SSD market will also grow 3.5 times."

HBM is expected to account for more than 50% of SK Hynix's total DRAM sales this year. The HBM sales ratio already exceeded 40% in the fourth quarter of last year. Thanks to HBM sales, SK Hynix recorded its highest-ever revenue of KRW 66.193 trillion and operating profit of KRW 23.4673 trillion last year.

To respond to the increasing demand for HBM, SK Hynix plans to continue expanding capacity and investment. The company plans to produce HBM using the 1b nanometer process at the Cheongju M15X fab, scheduled for completion by the end of this year. At the Yongin cluster, a production hub for next-generation memory including HBM, SK Hynix plans to begin phased cleanroom construction targeting mass production in the first quarter of 2028.

At the SK Hynix 77th Annual General Meeting held on the 27th at the SK Hynix headquarters Supex Hall in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by SK Hynix

Regarding Micron's move to raise DRAM prices in the U.S., SK Hynix took a somewhat cautious stance. Micron reportedly informed its customers and channel partners of plans to increase prices for some DRAM product lines, citing the value of new technologies applied to products amid rising AI demand.

SK Hynix emphasized that it will respond flexibly based on customer trust and demand rather than direct price increases. Lee Sang-rak, SK Hynix's Vice President in charge of Global Sales and Marketing (GSM), responded to related shareholder inquiries by saying, "We saw the letter that our competitor sent to channel partners yesterday. We have not sent such letters to our customers and always aim to respond flexibly." He added, "In the second half of last year, accumulated customer inventory was largely consumed, and supplier sales inventory also decreased. However, whether the current market atmosphere is short-term or mid-to-long-term requires further monitoring."

On concerns that the emergence of China's low-cost AI model 'DeepSeek' might reduce demand for HBM4, President Kwak responded to shareholder questions about 'HBM4 demand slowdown' by saying, "(Models like DeepSeek) will be positive for AI memory demand in the mid-to-long term," and added, "Regarding the production balance between HBM3E and HBM4, since they use the same DRAM platform, we can respond flexibly according to demand."

Meanwhile, at the shareholders' meeting, SK Hynix approved all agenda items as originally proposed, including approval of financial statements, appointment of inside directors and other non-standing directors, and approval of director remuneration limits. President Kwak was reappointed as an inside director, and Han Myung-jin, Chairman of SK Square, was newly appointed as an other non-standing director.