SK Hynix stock gains as massive buyback and record AI chip earnings drive sentiment

SK Hynix stock (ISIN KR7000660001) is trading firmly higher as of September 20, 2026, supported by a large share buyback program and record quarterly results in its artificial intelligence memory business.

Buyback program underpins SK Hynix stock

According to Chosun on September 20, 2026, SK Hynix has spent 24.39 trillion Korean won to repurchase 14.15 million shares over 22 trading days starting August 20, completing 58.79 percent of its planned 24.07 million-share buyback target.

The same report notes that SK Hynix is purchasing an average of about 650,000 shares per trading day, leaving roughly 9.92 million shares to be bought and putting the program on track to finish around mid-October if the current pace continues.Chosun For investors, this buyback acts as a concrete support for SK Hynix stock by reducing free float and signaling confidence in long-term cash generation.

Record Q2 2026 earnings from AI memory

SK Hynix is also benefiting from strong fundamentals in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI servers. As KED Global reported in an article dated September 18, 2026, SK Hynix posted its highest-ever quarterly results in the latest quarter, with operating profit and revenue both showing double-digit gains compared with the prior year.

A separate macro analysis from StoneX on September 20, 2026, highlights that SK Hynix reported record Q2 2026 operating profit of 60.5 trillion won and revenue of 79.3 trillion won, representing increases of more than six-fold and 257 percent year-on-year, respectively.

However, the same analysis points out that the operating profit figure of 60.5 trillion won came in below the 64 trillion won level expected by analysts,StoneX introducing a note of caution around how much further AI-linked semiconductor stocks can rerate without further earnings surprises.

Valuation and analyst perspectives

Valuation metrics also show SK Hynix stock trading at a discount to many semiconductor peers. An equity research note on September 20, 2026, from Simply Wall St calculates that SK Hynix trades on roughly 8.4 times earnings, compared with an estimated semiconductor industry average of about 15.8 times and a peer group around 47.2 times.

That valuation gap, combined with the strong earnings trajectory, leads some commentators to highlight SK Hynix as an attractive AI memory play. For example, a detailed analysis on September 20, 2026, by Techub assigns SK Hynix stock a Strong Buy rating, arguing that the market is applying a mean-reversion cyclical multiple to what it sees as a structurally higher-margin AI infrastructure toll-road business.

The same Techub piece notes that SK Hynix is executing a plan to cancel 24 million shares, reinforcing earnings per share, and has agreed with its labor union to split profit-sharing bonuses 50 percent in cash and 50 percent in company stock from September 2026 onward, a structure expected to align employee incentives with shareholder value.Techub

Operational and regulatory risks

Alongside the positive earnings and buyback story, investors also have to weigh operational and regulatory risks. A safety review reported by Seoul Economic Daily on September 20, 2026, found 338 safety violations at semiconductor manufacturers, nearly half of them at SK Hynix plants in Cheongju and Icheon.

In addition, Techub highlights that in September 2026 SK Hynix and Samsung declined a Korea Electric Power Corporation request for a combined 18.7 billion dollars in prepaid power infrastructure funding, which would have amounted to 5 trillion won of capital expenditure burden for SK Hynix.Techub While this decision supports near-term free cash flow and buybacks, it raises questions about how the company will secure power for its planned Yongin Y2 fab, expected to start operations around 2029 with an investment scale of 35.2 trillion won.Techub

Stock price, trading venue and market metrics

On its primary listing at the Korea Exchange (ticker 000660), SK Hynix stock closed at 1,857,000 Korean won on September 18, 2026, according to price data from Investing.com and TradingView for the KRX quote, representing a gain of 6.42 percent over the prior 24 hours and marking the day high at the closing level.

As of September 20, 2026, Investing.com data show the latest transaction price at 1,857,000 Korean won, with a 52-week range between 333,000 won and 2,987,000 won, indicating that the current price sits more than five times above the 52-week low but still below the 52-week high.Investing.com This wide range illustrates how sharply SK Hynix stock has rebounded with the AI memory cycle.

For investors following the US market, SK Hynix also trades via the SKHY ticker in Nasdaq-linked instruments. A recent quote snapshot on September 18, 2026, cited by Seeking Alpha showed SK Hynix at 187.50 dollars, up 4.51 dollars or 2.46 percent on the day, with a previous close at 182.99 dollars.

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