(HYUELE, Baa2pos/BBBpos/BBBpos)
Record results, production fully sold in 2026, positive for credit
SK Hynix reported Q3 results this morning, with reported EBITDA up 48% YoY to KRW14.9T, in line with consensus, but nevertheless an impressive result. Possible upgrade to high BBB on the cards with 2026 production fully sold. Positive for spreads.
3Q25 revenues rose 39% YoY to KRW24.4T, driven by rising demand for AI memory products, with prices for both DRAM and NAND flash also higher - production for 2026 has been fully sold, with supply tight for 2027.
Operating profits rose 62% YoY to KRW11.4T, another record quarter, representing a margin of 47% versus 40% in the year-ago quarter. Margins had held steady over the last 4 quarters around 41%, so a material jump in Q3.
In terms of credit, the company generated KRW9.3T of FCF in the quarter supporting a move into a net cash position of KRW3.8T, leverage in the prior quarter was already low at 0.1x.
As we can see in the chart below, the SK Hynix $ 1/31s has outperformed the $ 4/31 of higher rated peer TSMC (Aa3/AA-/NR) over the last couple of months.

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