Vlad Bastion
Founder of Investment Bastion, Systematic Stock Ratings & Algorithmic Portfolios
SK hynix offers a rare mix of growth and value as Nvidia's primary HBM supplier, with revenue expected to more than triple this fiscal year to $237B while the stock trades at 6x forward earnings. It just raised $26.5B in its US listing, the biggest US share sale ever by a foreign company. Its analyst ratings are exceptionally strong. x.com x.com
SK hynix, Nvidia's top HBM supplier, trades at just 3x forward earnings despite 68% annual revenue growth. Aggregated forecasts show its earnings rising from $30 billion to $180 billion over the next three years. It is not Korea's only bargain: Samsung trades at about 6x forward earnings, and the KOSPI rose 31% in April, its biggest monthly gain since 1988. x.com x.com
SK hynix's reported growth and shareholder returns make its low earnings multiple stand out. Revenue rose 328% year over year and operating profit 632%, with shareholder returns worth about 9.5% of market cap, yet the stock trades at roughly 3.0 times estimated 2027 earnings. x.com
SK hynix's exceptional margins and contracted capacity underpin a bullish outlook despite shares sitting around half their June high. Q3 operating margin reached 80%, up from 47% a year ago; long-term deals with 14 customers cover over half of 2027-28 capacity, and management expects demand to exceed supply through 2030. x.com
SK hynix's problem is governance, not memory. Mr. Chey is swapping underpriced HBM for NVIDIA cards to build SK Telecom into a Korean cloud provider, lining his own pockets there because his stake in SK hynix is far smaller. At Samsung, middle management runs memory prices like a personal bonus pool. Replying to @yuntungshieh's complaint of rubbish corporate governance, shareholder interests at Korean companies are dismissed as a joke. x.com x.com
SK hynix's five-year agreements with 14 major customers cover more than half its 2027-28 capacity, giving its memory earnings unusually long visibility. DRAM prices rose 28% and NAND 25% in the quarter, while operating profit reached 62.8 billion against 58.5 billion expected; Q4 DRAM shipments are guided up 25% from Q3. Those commitments support the view that demand is not peaking yet. Overweight, $400 target. x.com
A new sell-side forecast for SK hynix's Q4 operating profit strengthens its low-valuation case. The report looks for a 40% sequential rise to $88B, up 560% year over year. SK hynix might earn over $350B in operating profit in 2027 against an $800B market cap, or about 2x EV/operating profit after accounting for cash and its Kioxia stake. It could afford to buy back half its shares over three years. x.com
SK hynix's US listing trades at a 20% premium to Korea, hard to justify for a peak cyclical name on peak earnings whose estimates were just revised down. x.com
SK hynix's 'insane' earnings set up a sharp move higher in the shares. x.com
Samsung's HBM4 ramp makes SK hynix's ability to defend its HBM lead the key question in the memory race. Chosun Biz reports SK hynix's HBM4 shipments may have missed expectations for a second straight quarter amid Nvidia Rubin delays and chip tuning. Counterpoint puts Samsung's Q2 HBM share at 33%, up from 21%; TrendForce expects strong SK hynix Q3 profits. Samsung is the preferred memory stock right now, though there may be no single clear winner. SK hynix's October 28 report is the next check. … Show more
SK hynix's plan for more shareholder returns looks like the beginning of the end for the company. In a historically cyclical industry, giving money away instead of investing to avoid that cyclicality signals it can't find anywhere else to put its incoming cash. SK hynix said it is considering additional shareholder return measures, with details due in the third quarter. x.com x.com x.com
SK hynix has unusually strong earnings visibility because it expects memory demand to exceed supply through 2030, while long-term agreements with 14 customers cover more than half of its 2027 and 2028 production capacity. Record Q3 operating profit of KRW 83.3T also beat the KRW 76.7T estimate. x.com x.com
