A sixfold profit surge that disappoints? That's where AI expectations now sit

• SK Hynix's quarterly profit rose sixfold but missed market expectations, leading to a 9.61% intraday stock drop and a nearly 50% decline month-to-date.
• Other Asian chipmakers like Samsung Electr (-5.23%), TSMC (-3.51%), and Tokyo Electron (-10.59%) also closed lower, with European counterparts experiencing smaller but notable declines.
• The discrepancy is due to HBM pricing being set on longer-term contracts, meaning current earnings don't fully reflect recent price spikes, while investor positioning and leverage in the Korean market contribute to volatility.

SK Hynix reported a sixfold quarterly profit increase but missed 'sky-high' market expectations, causing its stock to drop nearly 10% intraday and impacting other major Asian and European chipmakers. The disappointment is attributed to past pricing on long-term high-bandwidth memory (HBM) contracts, despite robust current demand and tight supply, leading to unwinding of leveraged positions.