SK Hynix's fourth-quarter earnings surge to a new peak, surpassing forecasts due to the growth in AI demand.

• In the October-December quarter, both operating profit and revenue reached new highs, with an increase of 15% and 12% respectively, compared to the previous year.

SK Hynix, a leading memory chip manufacturer globally, reported record quarterly earnings on Thursday due to robust sales of high bandwidth memory (HBM) utilized in generative AI.

LSEG SmartEstimate, which is based on analysts' forecasts, shows SK Hynix's fourth-quarter results.

• Revenue: 19.77 trillion won ($13.7 billion) vs. 19.91 trillion won
• The operating profit for the company was 8.08 trillion won ($5.6 billion) compared to 8.02 trillion won.

In the October-December quarter, both operating profit and revenue reached new highs, with an increase of 15% and 12% respectively, compared to the previous year.

A key supplier to major tech companies, the South Korean chipmaker has profited from the growth of artificial intelligence servers.

The company's earnings release stated that SK Hynix achieved an all-time high result due to strong demand for AI memory, world-leading HBM technology, and profitability-oriented operation.

DRAM chips are vertically stacked in HBM technology to save space and reduce power consumption, making it a popular choice for laptops and PCs.

The top three manufacturers of HBM chips are SK Hynix, Micron Technology, and Samsung Electronics.

The company's strong fourth-quarter performance led to a record yearly revenue, surpassing the previous high in 2022 by more than 21 trillion won.

In 2018, the semiconductor industry experienced a "super boom," and since then, operating profit has consistently surpassed the previous record set during that time.