SK Hynix surpasses Samsung in annual profit as AI transforms rivalry

In 2025, SK Hynix outpaced Samsung Electronics in operating profit for the first time, maintaining its leading position in advanced memory used in AI chips.

These two South Korean memory giants squared off this week, with SK Hynix releasing its earnings on Wednesday, followed by Samsung on Thursday morning local time.

SK Hynix achieved an unprecedented operating profit of 47.2 trillion won for the entire year, outdoing Samsung's 43.6 trillion won. 

This highlights SK Hynix's growth in South Korea's tech industry since its acquisition by SK Telecom for approximately $3 billion in 2012.

SK Hynix is primarily centered on memory chips, whereas Samsung has diverse operations, including consumer electronics and contract chip production.

Samsung's memory division earned about 24.9 trillion won in 2025 operating profits.

SK Hynix's triumph is largely due to its established position as the world leader in high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, a specialised chip used in AI processors and servers like those made by Nvidia.

"SK Hynix stands out as a major 'AI Winner' in Asia," remarked MS Hwang, research director at Counterpoint Research, pointing out the company's excellence in quality and supply of HBMs and other AI server chips as pivotal during the current AI infrastructure surge.

Despite Samsung reclaiming the top position in memory revenue rankings in the last quarter of 2025, SK Hynix has maintained its market dominance in both categories, according to Hwang.

Nonetheless, the competitive landscape is intensifying.

Even though SK Hynix took an early lead in HBM and secured the majority of Nvidia memory contracts last year, rivals such as Samsung and Micron are making headway.