ABC summary: SK hynix Q4 and full-year 2024 earnings call

The to-the-point summary of the Q&A at SK hynix's most recent earnings call. I used AI to simplify questions, abridge answers, and bundle by key theme for accessibility and readibility.

SK Hynix Q4 & full-year 2024 earnings call analysis

Financial performance and outlook

Q: What were the key financial metrics for 2024?

• Full year revenue of 66.19 trillion won ($46.06B), up from 32.77 trillion won in 2023

• Operating profit of 23.47 trillion won vs -7.73 trillion won loss in 2023

• Operating margin of 35% for full year 2024

• Q4 revenue reached record 19.77 trillion won, up 12% QoQ and 75% YoY

• Q4 operating income of 8.08 trillion won with 41% margin

• Q4 EBITDA of 11.25 trillion won with 57% margin

Q: How does 2024 compare to previous peak performance?

• Revenue exceeded 2022 record (44.62T won) by 21 trillion won

• Operating profit surpassed 2018 supercycle peak (20.84T won)

Context: The dramatic year-over-year improvement in financial metrics, particularly the swing from operating loss to record profit, demonstrates SK Hynix's successful strategic pivot to AI memory products. Revenue growing by over 100% and operating margin reaching 35% suggests strong pricing power in high-performance memory segments. The comparison to previous cyclical peaks (2018/2022) indicates this may be a structural rather than cyclical improvement, driven by AI demand rather than traditional memory cycles.

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HBM and AI memory strategy

Q: What is the outlook for HBM growth and development?

• HBM revenue grew 4.5x compared to previous year

• 2025 HBM revenue expected to grow over 100%

• HBM accounted for over 40% of DRAM sales in Q4

• HBM3E 12Hi products began shipping in Q4 2024

• HBM4 12Hi product development to complete in 2025, mass production from 2026