South Korean chipmaker SK hynix has reported higher quarterly operating profit than its competitor, Samsung Electronics, for the first time.

In the October-December 2024, SK hynix reported an operating profit of 8.08 trillion won (US$5.62 billion), a 15% increase from last year.

In contrast, Samsung expects a fourth-quarter operating profit of 6.5 trillion won (US$4.5 billion).

SK hynix’s strong performance was driven by rising demand for AI memory chips, particularly high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, despite declining demand for conventional memory chips.

Samsung, the largest global memory chipmaker , has been slower to introduce its HBM products, which may impact its ability to benefit from the AI-driven demand.