SK Hynix moved from fourth to third among global chip suppliers in 2025, passing Intel on revenue. Intel was the only top-10 supplier to post a decline. The company has since raised cash and announced a partnership with Applied Materials.
SK Hynix pulled in $67.2 billion in revenue in 2025, a 42.3% jump from the year before. Intel brought in $48.5 billion over the same period, down 3.7%. The result moved SK Hynix from fourth to third among the world's chip suppliers, with Intel behind it.
High-bandwidth memory drives SK Hynix
The engine behind SK Hynix's growth is high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, which feeds data to AI processors. SK Hynix holds roughly 50% of the HBM market. That share has slipped slightly as Samsung gains ground, but SK Hynix remains the leading HBM supplier to Nvidia.
Profitability stands out as well. SK Hynix posted an operating margin of around 76% in the second quarter of 2026, driven by strength in HBM and DRAM.
The wider market moved the same way. The top 10 chip suppliers captured two-thirds of a record semiconductor market in 2025, and Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron and Nvidia drove most of that growth. Intel, however, was the sole decliner among the top 10.
Intel raises cash and partners with Applied Materials
Intel has also been reporting net losses. In August 2026, the company completed an upsized $20 billion common stock offering, selling 210.5 million shares at $95 each. The proceeds are earmarked for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures.
Then, on October 6, 2026, Intel and Applied Materials announced a technical collaboration. The work will take place at Applied's EPIC Center and Intel's Oregon R&D site, and it targets next-generation transistors, interconnect scaling and advanced packaging for AI workloads.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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