SK Hynix Inc. reported a fourth-quarter operating profit margin of 58.4%. This margin surpassed TSMC's for the first time in seven years. Demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI applications drives intense competition in the advanced memory chip sector.
The profitability shift highlights SK Hynix's growing dominance in the HBM market. The company reportedly secured two-thirds of Nvidia's initial orders for its next-generation HBM4 chips. This competitive pressure represents a significant factor for TSMC amid the broader AI-driven semiconductor boom.