Soaring Storage Prices, SK Hynix's Q1 Report Expected to Erupt

On April 23rd, global semiconductor giant SK Hynix will officially announce its financial report for the first quarter of 2026. Driven by the continuous fervor in AI server demand and a substantial increase in storage prices, the market is holding its breath for this "report card" that may break historical records.

Operating Profit May Surpass the 40 Trillion Won Threshold

According to Goldman Sachs and the market's consensus expectations, SK Hynix's performance this quarter is expected to be highly explosive. Securities firms optimistically anticipate that its operating profit for the first quarter may reach as high as **40 trillion won**.

Although a report released by Goldman Sachs in March prudently referenced a pricing level of 35 trillion won, the latest data indicates that traditional DRAM contract prices have surged by 90%-95% month-on-month, offsetting a seasonal price decline of about 10% for HBM (High Bandwidth Memory).

The market forecasts that its operating profit margin will enter the **70%** "dream range," and it may even surpass the leading foundry TSMC.

Memory Chip Momentum Expected to Last Throughout the Year

According to the latest sequential guidance provided by Goldman Sachs, the average selling price of memory chips for the entire year of 2026 will exhibit a very distinct rhythm.

Traditional storage leads with a sequential increase of 90% in the first quarter, and it will continue to maintain a rapid growth of 60% in the second quarter.

While HBM experiences a small 10% pullback in the first quarter due to product mix adjustments, it is expected to迎来 a explosive growth of 35% in the third quarter.

This wave of momentum reflects the concentrated release of demand for high-end HBM from next-generation AI accelerators, indicating that the industry's prosperity is expected to extend throughout the entire year.

Foreign Capital Inflow and Index Target Upgrades

As of mid-April, foreign capital's holdings in South Korea's semiconductor sector were once at a low point, with the ownership ratio falling to about 48%, the lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, after Samsung Electronics released better-than-expected results on April 7th, foreign capital quickly turned to a significant net purchase.

Between April 7th and 21st alone, foreign capital net bought **24.1 trillion won** worth of SK Hynix and **10.9 trillion won** worth of Samsung Electronics, showing that large funds are accelerating to position themselves on the eve of financial report announcements.

Goldman Sachs has raised the 12-month target price for the KOSPI index from 7,000 points to 8,000 points, mainly driven by updates to earnings forecasts for 2026, with an expected year-on-year increase of 220%, of which about 90% is from Samsung Electronics/Hynix.**