Why SK hynix Could Be the Best AI Chip Stock to Buy Now

Given SK hynix’s (NASDAQ: SKHY) dominant position in digital memory—and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) in particular—it's a good stock to own, perhaps one of the best for 2026 and the next few years.

The biggest risk for U.S. investors is hype and a premium placed on recently listed American Depository Receipts (ADRs), which have impaired the risk/reward profile. The story as July comes to an end, however, is that the premium is eroding and opening the buying opportunity that smart money has waited for.

Analysts Stay Bullish on SK hynix Despite the Q2 Miss

Analysts' sentiment is firm, pointing to significant upside for this stock (both the South Korean shares and the ADRs) and was unimpaired by the weakness in Q2 earnings. Weaknesses were linked to timing, mix, and shifts, including the launch of next-gen HBM products, which are scheduled to ramp in the back half of the year.

Analyst coverage of SKHY on MarketBeat is slim, with only three analysts tracked, but is robust when coupled with coverage of South Korean markets. Together, there are 40 current reports reflecting a Moderate Buy/Strong Buy consensus and over 100% upside potential. Consensus of U.S.-listed coverage suggests a 150% upside, a target echoed in coverage of competitor Micron (NASDAQ: MU).

SK hynix Misses High Bar With Robust Quarter

SK hynix missed consensus estimates for revenue, but the bar was set high, with 100% of analysts having lifted targets since the last report and whispers suggesting as much as 300% growth was possible.

The critical details from the release include the 257% year-over-year increase, sequential acceleration, and the margin strength it drove. Top-line results were underpinned by AI, with DRAM and HBM pricing compounding volume gains. Other end markets, including PC and smartphones, were less robust but are limited by supply, which is expected to improve over time.

SK hynix, aided by capital raised through its U.S. listing, aims to double chip wafer capacity within the next five years. A deal with NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is also in play, aiming to scale capacity across multiple production clusters to support AI infrastructure needs. Valued at over $500 billion, the deal also secured years of future memory supply, cementing SK hynix’s growth trajectory and pricing power.

Q2 margin news was stellar. Surging demand, pricing power, and capacity utilization drove margin gains down the stack. The critical details are the 557% increase in operating profit and guidance, which noted increasing and broadening demand linked to high-performance computing and inference needs. Additionally, 10 new long-term agreements with hyperscale clients were mentioned, confirming a structural shift in the memory market. Memory is no longer a niche market, constrained by quarterly pricing fluctuations, but a critical piece of digital infrastructure commanding multiyear contracts and price stability.

SK hynix’s Biggest Risks? Execution and Competition

SK hynix’s biggest risks are execution and competition. On the one hand, supply constraints, capacity expansion, and the risk of oversupply limit growth prospects and set the market up for a massive correction. On the other hand, competitors like Micron are working hard to capture market share while expanding capacity to meet demand, thereby threatening SK hynix’s future growth and increasing the risk of market oversupply. The caveat is that AI spending plans have yet to be curtailed, leaving the fundamental story intact, and signs suggest the AI memory upswing is only just begun.

This year’s catalysts include product launches. HBM4 began shipping in Q2, but the product ramp is slated for the second half, which will unlock GPU supply chain capacity. HBM4 is critical to Vera Rubin production, which, in turn, is critical to AI datacenter buildout. Oracle’s (NYSE: ORCL) contracts, for one, are heavily back-ended, dependent on capacity and computing power yet to be unleashed. Other launches include industry-specific solutions for mobility and personal computing, which are forecast to drive growth.

AI Memory Demand Is Structural, Not Cyclical

What the market gets wrong about SK hynix and other memory leaders is that AI is not a typical, cyclical blip in the memory chip demand cycle. It is a structural shift that is gaining momentum. While the push for training infrastructure may slow, it is leading to inference, which requires exponentially more memory. Each query requires a new memory dump, and the number of queries is growing daily while the models become more complex. The takeaway is that the memory cycle isn’t ending, as some fear, but is in its earliest phases and could accelerate over the next few quarters.

Dividends, Buybacks, and a Cash Flow Story

Investors can also benefit from SK hynix’s cash flow. The company is committed to capital returns, paying a baseline dividend with contingencies to increase payments as income improves. The Q2 release reaffirmed the commitment and raised the stakes, indicating an intention to accelerate returns, potentially including share buybacks. ADR holders are entitled to a proportional share of distributions, expected to be paid each quarter.