Nice Investors Service Upgrades SK hynix Credit Rating to 'AA+'

by Kim Youngwon

Published 05 Mar.2026 17:47(KST)

Upgrade Follows Korea Ratings' Move in January
Main Criteria: HBM Competitiveness and Other Key Factors

Nice Investors Service has upgraded SK hynix's credit rating from AA to AA+.

On March 5, Nice Investors Service announced the upgrade and stated that the outlook for the credit rating has been changed from 'Positive' to 'Stable'.

Yonhap News

The adjustment was made as global demand for HBM has surged amid the worldwide artificial intelligence (AI) boom, and SK hynix possesses strong competitiveness in this area. Nice Investors Service explained, "While demand for high-value-added AI-related products such as HBM and enterprise SSDs has risen significantly, supply shortages continue due to the high complexity of the manufacturing process and the time lag in expanding production capacity. In addition to HBM, AI accelerators include a total of 480GB of multiple DRAM chips that interact with the Grace CPU. As sales of AI servers increase, general-purpose products will also benefit from this structure."

The agency went on to say, "SK hynix is maintaining a leading supply position in HBM3E products thanks to stable yields and timely delivery based on outstanding technological capabilities. Although technological competition and diversification of suppliers are expected to intensify starting with HBM4 this year, we believe SK hynix will retain its superior supply position, given the maturity of its already established 1b process and its strategic partnerships with major customers."

Although the company faces a heavier investment burden related to facilities this year, Nice Investors Service expects SK hynix to maintain solid financial stability. SK hynix is currently constructing the Yongin cluster, a 129 trillion won project, and a packaging plant in Indiana, United States, worth 5 trillion won. The agency stated, "While this year's investment scale is expected to increase sharply compared to last year, the company plans to maintain its internal policy of limiting CAPEX (capital expenditures) to less than the mid-30% range of total sales. As the scale of CAPEX remains well managed within EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), we anticipate that SK hynix will continue to secure a strong level of free cash flow."

Whether SK hynix can maintain its leading supply position in the HBM market remains to be seen. Nice Investors Service commented, "With the HBM4 market set to expand in earnest after this year, there are factors that could lead to price declines as competitors such as Samsung Electronics and Micron catch up. Along with changes in the company's competitive position, we also plan to monitor supply and demand factors such as the scale of investment in downstream industries and changes in memory semiconductor production capacity."

Regarding semiconductor tariffs, the agency predicted that the short-term impact would be limited. Semiconductors are subject to itemized tariffs, but since the rates have not yet been finalized, exports to the United States remain duty-free. Nice Investors Service added, "Even if tariffs are introduced, considering the ongoing supply shortages of HBM and advanced process products due to the expansion of AI infrastructure, as well as the supply position of domestic memory semiconductor companies, it should be relatively easy to pass on tariff costs to prices, resulting in minimal short-term impact on performance. However, in the mid-to-long term, tariffs could put pressure on profitability, so we will closely monitor the final tariff rates and specific quota agreements as they are determined in the future."