SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. are set to report their third-quarter earnings this week, with strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips expected to drive robust profits, industry watchers said Sunday.
SK hynix is scheduled to release its earnings Wednesday, followed by Samsung Electronics on Thursday.
Their combined operating profit is expected to reach around 185 trillion won (US$139.4 billion), supported by strong memory chip prices and growing demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI accelerators, according to market estimates.
Samsung Electronics earlier projected third-quarter sales of 195 trillion won and operating profit of 107.4 trillion won in its preliminary earnings guidance.
Investors will closely watch the chipmakers' progress in supplying next-generation HBM4 chips for Nvidia's AI accelerators, including its Vera Rubin platform.
SK hynix is also expected to post strong earnings on robust demand for conventional memory chips and advanced HBM products.
Meanwhile, SK hynix said Friday it had suspended plans to list its U.S. subsidiary Solidigm, citing market conditions. The decision came amid shareholder opposition and regulatory scrutiny over concerns that a separate listing could undermine minority shareholders' interests.
This composite file photo shows buildings of Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. (Yonhap)
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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