Memory chips stay scarce until 2030, making PCs and servers dearer
SK hynix reported third-quarter revenue of 104.6trn won and an operating margin of 80 per cent, and expects demand for memory chips to exceed supply until 2030.
SK hynix, a South Korean memory maker, earned an operating profit of 83.3trn won on revenue of 104.6trn won in the third quarter, a margin of 80 per cent. Average DRAM prices rose by almost 30 per cent on the previous quarter, NAND flash prices by about 25 per cent.
What happened
Memory is the next bottleneck the AI build-out is exposing. Data centres need high-bandwidth memory (HBM) in large quantities, and producers are shifting capacity towards it. SK hynix has signed long-term agreements with 14 large customers, including leading cloud providers, covering more than half its capacity for 2027 and 2028, mostly over five years. On the earnings call the firm said DRAM and HBM are effectively sold out until 2029 and that requests for HBM exceed supply by more than two to one. New fabs take years; the first plant in the Yongin cluster is due to ramp up in 2027. Management explicitly expects PC and smartphone shipments to fall because of higher memory costs and tight supply. Revenue rose by 328 per cent year on year. For 2026 SK hynix plans to return about 100trn won to shareholders.
What follows
Assessment: buyers with long-term contracts secure volumes; those buying at short notice pay for what is left. They are mainly PC and phone makers, mid-sized firms renewing hardware and smaller data centres. Companies planning to replace laptops or servers should expect higher prices and longer lead times while the shortage lasts. Europe has no significant memory production of its own and depends on Korea, Taiwan, America and China. For the producers, business becomes steadier: long-term contracts smooth a notoriously volatile cycle. Should AI demand collapse the picture would change quickly, but the companies do not currently expect that.
What changes in practice
- IT departments
- If memory stays scarce until 2030, replacing laptops and servers becomes dearer and lead times longer.
- Consumers
- SK hynix expects PC and phone shipments to fall as memory becomes more expensive.
- Hardware makers
- Large cloud customers have tied up more than half of 2027 and 2028 capacity through five-year contracts.
What to watch
- Contract prices for DRAM and NAND in the fourth quarter
- Shipment figures for PCs and smartphones
- Start-up of the first Yongin fab in 2027
Sources
- SK hynix: Announces 3Q26 Financial Results
- Investing.com: Earnings call transcript SK hynix Q3 2026
- finanzen.net: dpa-AFX-Überblick Unternehmen vom 28.10.2026