SK hynix shares fall despite surprise Q1 earnings results

[Photo by SK hynix Inc.]

South Korean memory chipmaker SK hynix Inc. saw its shares decline in early trading on Thursday despite its earnings announcement for the first quarter of 2024 that beat market expectations.

SK hynix shares traded at 174,700 won ($126.87) as of 9:17 a.m. on Thursday, down 5,100 won, or 2.84 percent, from the previous day‘s closing price. The stock tumbled to 172,500 won at one point in the morning, or 4.06 percent lower than the previous day.

This development is interpreted as profit-taking following the stock’s sharp rise the previous day, combined with the judgment that the company’s earnings expectations have already been reflected. SK hynix shares closed at 179,800 won the day before, up 5.15 percent from the previous trading day.

The Korean chipmaker reported consolidated first-quarter sales of 12.53 trillion won and operating profit of 2.89 trillion won on Thursday. Its sales hit a record high, with operating profit surpassing market expectations by about 40 percent and turning a profit.

[Graphics by Song Ji-yoon]

The stock’s decline was likely influenced by concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor stocks on the New York stock market overnight, which saw Nvidia Corp. shares fall 3.3 percent.

Meanwhile, shares of EcoPro Co., the holding company of Korea’s leading cathode materials manufacturer EcoPro Group, rose sharply in the Thursday morning session following a stock split.

EcoPro shares traded at 113,500 won as of 9:14 a.m. on the secondary Kosdaq market, up 9.77 percent from the stock split threshold of 103,400 won.

EcoPro earlier resolved to split its shares by one-fifth through a shareholder meeting and suspended stock trading from April 9th, 2024, to the April 24thto facilitate the split. Trading resumed on Thursday, and the company expects that the stock split will lower its per-share price, thereby promoting stock trading and increasing shareholder value.