Employee average bonus reaches 6.1 million RMB? SK Hynix responds

Multiple storage manufacturers’ latest quarterly performances have surged rapidly, and news about storage companies increasing salaries is also spreading wildly on social media.

Recently, there are reports that SK Hynix (000660.KS) employees in Korea will receive an average bonus of 6.1 million RMB. The source of this news is a forecast by the international investment bank Macquarie Securities. The bank believes that if SK Hynix’s operating profit in 2027 reaches 447 trillion Korean won, based on 10% of operating profit and the approximate total of 35k employees at the end of last year, the total dividend payout could reach about 44.7 trillion Korean won, with an average bonus of about 1.29 billion Korean won, close to 6.1 million RMB.

On May 9, SK Hynix responded to First Financial Journalists, stating that since this year’s and next year’s annual performance have not yet been determined, the bonus scale cannot be predicted. The company also said that it has established a new system at the headquarters level, which allocates 10% of operating profit as funds, to be distributed as performance bonuses once a year.

“With the intensification of AI semiconductor competition, talent has become a core competitive factor. Therefore, the company is committed to attracting excellent talent through competitive compensation to maintain long-term competitive advantage,” SK Hynix told reporters.

The performance bonus system mentioned by SK Hynix originates from a new labor agreement reached last September. As the company’s performance grew rapidly last year, market forecasts for employee performance bonuses based on last year’s operating profit have increased.

By 2025, SK Hynix’s revenue is projected to reach 97.1467 trillion Korean won, an increase of over 30 trillion won year-on-year, with operating profit of 47.2063 trillion Korean won, doubling from the previous year and setting a record for the highest annual performance. Based on the total of approximately 35k employees at the end of last year, the average bonus could be about 140 million Korean won, which is about 650k RMB.

In the first quarter of this year, the company’s performance continued to grow. In Q1, SK Hynix’s revenue was 52.5763 trillion Korean won, with an operating profit of 37.6103 trillion Korean won. The company’s quarterly sales first surpassed 50 trillion Korean won, with operating profit soaring by 405% year-on-year.

As discussions about performance bonuses continue, SK Hynix employees’ work uniforms on Korean social media have been jokingly called “matchmaking tools,” and SK Hynix employees are favored in the dating market. In terms of stock price, from the beginning of the year to May 8, SK Hynix’s stock price increased by 159.43%, with a market value of 1,202 trillion Korean won (over 8 trillion USD) as of May 8 closing.

Another Korean storage manufacturer, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), also saw significant growth in its first-quarter performance this year. In this quarter, Samsung Electronics’ revenue was 133 trillion Korean won, up 68% year-on-year, with an operating profit of 57.2 trillion Korean won, up 755% year-on-year. This quarter’s operating profit exceeded the entire last year.

On May 6, Samsung Electronics surged 12% intraday, with a market value reaching 1,500 trillion Korean won (about 1.03 trillion USD), becoming the second Asian company after TSMC to surpass 1 trillion USD in market value. From the beginning of the year to May 8, Samsung Electronics’ stock price increased by 123.94%.

The performances of these two storage companies are both driven by the growth in AI demand. According to data from market research firm TrendForce, in the fourth quarter of last year, the combined revenue of the top five global NAND flash memory manufacturers increased by 23.8% quarter-on-quarter, and the DRAM industry revenue increased by 29.4%. The organization predicts that in 2026, under limited capacity expansion and explosive AI demand, NAND flash memory prices will continue to rise.

Currently, leading storage manufacturers are still competing around HBM (High Bandwidth Memory), and the competition for frontier technologies has evolved into a battle for technical talent. Samsung Electronics has already felt pressure from competitors. SK Hynix’s previous adjustment of dividend policies has intensified internal conflicts within Samsung Electronics, which is facing a strike risk due to profit distribution issues. Meanwhile, with storage products still facing shortages, the global semiconductor and consumer electronics supply chain is under considerable pressure, and industry insiders are recently worried that a strike at Samsung Electronics could further disrupt the semiconductor supply chain.

(Source: First Financial Journal)