Global Storage and AI Chip Industry Enters “Super Cycle” with Record Performances Across Enterprises
Recently, the global storage chip and AI chip sectors have been witnessing a string of positive developments. Leading enterprises in the industry have released impressive financial reports, with surging demand for key products such as HBM (High-Bandwidth Memory) and DRAM. The industry has thus entered a “super cycle” and is poised for strong growth momentum in the future.
SK Hynix has achieved historic results. In the third quarter, its sales reached 24.4 trillion won, a year-on-year increase of 39%; its operating profit stood at 11.4 trillion won, soaring by 62% year-on-year and exceeding the 10 trillion won mark for the first time. These results are in line with market expectations. The outstanding performance is driven by the skyrocketing sales of HBM fueled by AI demand, the sharp increase in demand for general-purpose memory in AI data centers, and the exchange rate of the Korean won against the U.S. dollar breaking 1,400 won. Meanwhile, DRAM prices have surged dramatically: the contract price in January was 1.35, and by September, it had risen to 6.3, representing an increase of over 500%. Currently, DRAM accounts for 7% of PC production costs, far exceeding the historical average of 4%. The company plans to ship HBM4 in the fourth quarter and has already finalized supply agreements with major customers for next year. It is estimated that the “super cycle” will last at least until the first quarter of next year.
Domestic enterprises have also delivered impressive performances. In the third quarter of 2025, GigaDevice achieved a revenue of 2.681 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.4%, and a net profit of 508 million yuan, a year-on-year rise of 61%. In the first three quarters, its revenue reached 6.83 billion yuan and net profit hit 1.083 billion yuan, up 20.9% and 30% year-on-year respectively. The growth in performance is attributed to the “simultaneous increase in price and volume” in the DRAM industry, as well as the synergistic effects of the company’s diversified layout in the consumer, industrial, and automotive sectors. Additionally, GigaDevice has opened a new office in Tokyo to further expand its presence in the Japanese market. For Unigroup Guoxin Microelectronics, its net profit in the first three quarters reached 1.26 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25%, which has already exceeded the full-year net profit of 1.179 billion yuan in 2024. In the third quarter alone, its net profit surged by 109.5% year-on-year to 570 million yuan, mainly driven by the growing demand for special integrated circuit business.
Nvidia, a giant in the AI chip sector, has also handed in an outstanding report card. The shipment volume of its latest-generation chips is expected to reach 20 million units, which is five times the total lifetime shipment volume of the previous-generation Hopper chips. The company’s market value has approached $4.9 trillion. CEO Jensen Huang mentioned technological breakthroughs in areas such as 6G and AI, while emphasizing its identity as a “leader in U.S. technology” and expressing the hope to resume AI chip exports. Notably, the sales forecasts for its Blackwell and Rubin chips do not currently include the Chinese market.
It is worth noting that competition in the HBM4 field is intensifying. During the concurrent events of the APEC CEO Summit, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix set up booths side by side, both showcasing HBM4. SK Hynix introduced relevant core technologies, while Samsung displayed HBM4 together with GDDR7 memory chips. At present, both companies have delivered HBM4 samples to Nvidia for quality verification.