Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix bulk up cash reserves by W117tr in six months

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, South Korea's two dominant semiconductor makers, together added nearly 120 trillion won ($84.8 billion) in cash and cash equivalents — including short-term financial instruments — over just six months, industry data confirmed Monday.

The surge reflects explosive earnings growth in the first half of this year, driven by soaring sales of HBM and general-purpose DRAM chips. Analysts say the two companies secured an overwhelming war chest to compete for dominance in the global capital investment race.

According to the companies' semiannual filings, Samsung Electronics reported cash and cash equivalents plus short-term financial assets of 189.95 trillion won as of the end of the first half — up about 64 trillion won from 125.82 trillion won at the end of last year.

SK Hynix similarly grew its cash and cash equivalents over the same period, from 34.94 trillion won at end-2025 to 87.96 trillion won, an increase of more than 53 trillion won.

Combined, the two companies held 277.91 trillion won in cash, cash equivalents and short-term financial assets at the end of the first half — roughly 117 trillion won more than six months earlier.

SK Hynix also trimmed its debt load over the period. Total borrowings fell 3.66 trillion won from a year earlier to 18.59 trillion won in the first half.

Strong profitability allowed the company to build up reserves while rapidly paying down borrowed funds.

At its annual shareholders meeting earlier this year, SK Hynix set a target of accumulating 100 trillion won in net cash — defined as cash and cash equivalents minus total borrowings. The company's net cash position stood at 69.37 trillion won at the end of the first half.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix posted operating profit of 146.72 trillion won and 98.15 trillion won, respectively, in the first half alone — a combined total approaching 250 trillion won that analysts called a new industry record.

The results were driven by broad-based growth in memory chip sales, spanning HBM, DRAM and NAND, as major technology companies poured money into AI infrastructure, pushing up both volumes and prices.

With operating profit expected to climb even higher in the second half, attention is turning to whether the two companies' combined cash and cash equivalents could reach 400 trillion won.

Securities analysts project the two companies will together generate operating profit of around 200 trillion won in the third quarter alone.

As the global semiconductor industry moves into an aggressive phase of capital spending, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are channeling their ample reserves into expanding fab capacity.

Samsung Electronics plans to extend its Pyeongtaek campus and establish new memory chip production bases in Yongin and the Honam region.

The company spent a total of 28.1 trillion won in capital expenditure in the first half.

SK Hynix is currently building its first fab at the Yongin semiconductor cluster and plans to invest a total of 54 trillion won in a second fab there and in M17, a NAND production facility to be built in Cheongju.