SK Hynix Inc.(NASDAQ:SKHY) on Wednesday said artificial intelligence (AI) customers are now making financial deposits alongside long-term supply agreements, giving the company greater visibility into future demand as AI infrastructure spending continues to surge.
Long-Term Contracts Improve Demand Visibility
The South Korean chipmaker said the agreements are designed to give the company greater confidence in customers’ medium- and long-term demand plans, allowing it to better align production capacity with committed orders as AI memory demand continues to grow.
Financial mechanisms such as deposits are incorporated to support contract fulfillment and enhance the visibility and reliability of customers’ mid- to long-term demand plans,” Song Hyunjong, President of Corporate Center, said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call.
The company has signed about 10 long-term agreements with strategic customers.
AI Buyers Commit Years Ahead to Secure Supply
SK Hynix’s comments echo a broader shift across the AI supply chain, with customers increasingly prioritizing guaranteed access to computing infrastructure over pricing certainty.
Dell Technologies Inc.(NYSE:DELL) Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke said in June that some of the company’s largest AI customers were signing server agreements lasting as long as five years despite not knowing the final price.
Last month, Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said the company had secured about $22 billion in customer commitments, including roughly $18 billion in cash deposits, under agreements spanning up to five years.
Record Quarter, But Profit Misses Estimates
For the second quarter, SK Hynix reported operating profit of 60.54 trillion KRW ($41.84 billion), up 557% from a year earlier, but below the 64 trillion KRW ($44.23 billion) forecast compiled by LSEG SmartEstimates.
Revenue rose 257%, more than triple, to a record 79.32 trillion KRW ($54.82 billion).
Price Action: Recently listed NASDAQ American depositary receipts fell 8.98% to $130.17 and rose 1.70% in extended trading. Seoul-listed shares slumped 9.61% to 1,401,000 KRW ($968.1), dragging the benchmark index KOSPI 5.98% lower.
Benzinga edge rankings indicate SKHY has a Value score in the 51st percentile and a Growth score in the 97th percentile.