The global craze surrounding AI-tailored High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) has taken a hit, as evidenced by storage behemoth SK Hynix's less-than-stellar Q2 financial results. The company's excessive bet on HBM chips for the AI sector led to revenue and operating profit figures for the second quarter that fell short of market forecasts, triggering widespread concern across the industry. According to the financial report, SK Hynix's operating profit for the second quarter stood at KRW 6.054 trillion, a significant drop from KRW 9.2 trillion recorded in the same period last year and well below analysts' expectations of KRW 6.422 trillion. Revenue for the second quarter also disappointed, coming in at KRW 7.9 trillion, lower than the projected KRW 8.4 trillion. Some analysts noted that SK Hynix's failure to meet expectations stemmed from its heavier reliance on the high-end memory chip sector used in AI data centers compared to its rivals. This strategic focus resulted in relatively modest gains, especially amidst the robust price hikes for traditional memory chips. Nevertheless, SK Hynix has secured long-term chip supply agreements with 10 major industry players and has ambitious plans to substantially ramp up its HBM4 high-bandwidth memory production capacity in the latter half of 2026.