Memory chip stocks have had a particularly bad run as of late, but today might mark the beginning of a turnaround.
Shares of SK Hynix Inc. closed 10.89% up on Wednesday following better-than-expected third-quarter results, including over 100 trillion won in sales for the first time.
The South Korean company reported 104.62 trillion won ($78.13 billion) in revenue, beating Wall Street’s expected 98.34 trillion won, according to consensus estimates cited by CNBC. It signified a 328% increase in revenue year-over-year (YOY).
SK Hynix also saw 83.33 trillion won ($62.22 billion) in operating profit, exceeding the predicted 76.72 trillion won and 632% up YOY.
The company also announced its plan to dole out about 100 trillion won in shareholder returns this year.
At close of business, SK Hynix’s shares were up 128.42% year-to-date (YTD) but still 16.27% down for the last 30 days.
U.S.-listed shares of the company (Nasdaq: SKHY), which trade on the Nasdaq, were up more than 7% in premarket trading on Wednesday as of this writing.
Samsung Electronics rose alongside its rival South Korean chip manufacturer, with the stock closing up 9.01%. Similarly, it was up 101.83% YTD but down 9.87% for the month.
KOSPI catches a break
South Korea’s KOSPI Index, which SK Hynix and Samsung trade on, closed 6.63% up, but 12.73% down for the month.
Stocks for American memory chip companies rose on the success of SK Hynix during premarket trading Wednesday.
Micron Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) was up 3.97%, while Sandisk Corp. (Nasdaq: SNDK) rose 4.91%.
Memory stocks have benefited this year from a memory shortage driven by the buildout of AI infrastructure, but the stocks have cooled after hitting record highs over the summer.
