In a seismic shift for South Korea’s semiconductor giants, SK Hynix Inc. eclipsed Samsung Electronics Co. in annual operating profit for 2025, posting a record 47.2 trillion won ($33.1 billion) against Samsung’s 43.6 trillion won. This marked the first time the memory specialist outpaced its larger rival, fueled by unrelenting demand for high-bandwidth memory chips critical to artificial intelligence infrastructure. SK Hynix’s near-exclusive focus on memory allowed it to capture the full force of the AI boom, while Samsung’s diversified portfolio—from smartphones to displays—diluted its semiconductor gains, with its memory unit contributing just 24.9 trillion won.

The milestone earnings, disclosed on consecutive days in late January 2026, underscore how AI processors from Nvidia Corp. and others have rewritten competitive dynamics. SK Hynix secured a commanding lead in HBM supply and quality, clinching over two-thirds of orders for Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin products, according to a CNBC report. Its HBM revenue more than doubled year-over-year, propelling full-year sales to 97.15 trillion won, up 47% from 2024, as detailed in filings covered by Yonhap News Agency.

HBM’s Central Role in the Profit Surge

“SK Hynix is clearly an outstanding ‘AI Winner’ in Asia,” said MS Hwang, research director at Counterpoint Research, highlighting its edge in HBM for AI servers. In Q3 2025, SK Hynix commanded 57% of HBM revenue share versus Samsung’s 22%, per Counterpoint estimates cited across reports. This dominance stemmed from early investments in advanced HBM3E and pioneering mass production of HBM4, the industry’s first, completed in September 2025.

Samsung, grappling with prior quality issues in HBM3E, regained ground in overall memory revenue by Q4 but trailed in the lucrative AI segment. Analysts like Ray Wang of SemiAnalysis foresee Samsung’s HBM4 turnaround for Nvidia’s products, yet expect SK Hynix to hold its lead. The memory shortage, exacerbated by HBM’s voracious capacity demands—requiring twice the wafer area of standard DRAM—has spiked prices across categories, with DDR5 modules quadrupling to $32.4 per 16GB unit, as noted by The Korea Times.

Financial Breakdowns Reveal Stark Contrasts

SK Hynix’s Q4 operating profit soared 137% to 19.2 trillion won, beating estimates, with margins hitting 58%—surpassing even TSMC’s in the period, per X discussions and Reuters. Samsung countered with a record Q4 profit of 20.07 trillion won, up 209%, driven by memory highs, but its annual total fell short, as reported by TrendForce. SK Hynix’s NAND sales also hit records, bolstered by enterprise SSD rebound.

Since its $3 billion acquisition by SK Telecom in 2012, SK Hynix has ascended from underdog to AI frontrunner, now planning a $10 billion U.S. AI entity via Solidigm and a 19 trillion won packaging facility in Cheongju. Samsung, meanwhile, eyes HBM4 shipments to Nvidia starting February 2026, signaling intensified rivalry.

AI Demand Fuels Capacity Race

HBM’s shift from training to inference phases, plus distributed computing, sustains demand for high-performance memory alongside server DRAM and NAND, SK Hynix stated in its outlook via its official release. Both firms ramped capex—SK Hynix to over 35 trillion won in 2026, Samsung to 40 trillion—prioritizing DRAM and HBM amid shortages projected into 2027.

Analysts project HBM market growth at 25-33% CAGR through 2030, potentially hitting $100 billion by 2028, per Bank of America and SK Hynix’s 2026 outlook. SK Hynix’s 62% HBM shipment share in Q2 2025 (Counterpoint) positions it to supply Google’s TPU7 and Nvidia Rubin, with UBS forecasting 82% DRAM margins by Q4 2026.

Strategic Expansions and Shareholder Rewards

SK Hynix announced 14.3 trillion won in returns, including canceling 12.2 trillion won in treasury shares, boosting per-share value. Its Yongin fab and Indiana packaging push aim to lock in leadership. Samsung, supplying HBM3E to Google and AMD, stresses pricing power parity with SK Hynix in HBM4.

The duel’s implications ripple globally: memory prices up 40-50% in Q4 2025, with Q1 2026 hikes of 50-60% expected (CNBC). Hyperscalers’ “DRAM beggars” flock to Korea, per Sungkyunkwan’s Choi Byoung-deog in UPI, heralding a multi-year upcycle.

Broader Industry Ripples

Micron trails but gains in inference chips, while Chinese players like CXMT eye low-end DRAM. Yet Korean duopoly dominates high-end AI supply. X sentiment echoes the drama, with posts noting SK Hynix’s margins topping Nvidia’s temporarily.

As AI data centers proliferate, SK Hynix’s HBM fortress challenges Samsung’s scale, redefining South Korea’s tech order and powering the next silicon era.