SK Hynix stated on Thursday that it will strive to establish an overwhelming leadership position in the sixth-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), or HBM4, similar to its achievements with previous generations, and anticipates fierce competition with Samsung Electronics Co.

The company stated during an earnings call held the day after reporting a record operating profit for 2025: "The goal is to secure a dominant market share in the HBM4 sector, just as we have done with our HBM3 and HBM3E products."

SK Hynix said on Wednesday that, driven by the booming artificial intelligence (AI) sector, its annual operating profit for 2025 is projected to reach a record 47.2 trillion won ($330 billion), surpassing Samsung Electronics for the first time.

The company stated: "Despite our efforts to maximize production capacity, it is difficult to fully meet 100% of customer demand, and we expect some competitors to enter the fray." It also noted that global demand is experiencing "explosive" growth, fueled by investments in AI infrastructure.

SK Hynix is currently in the final preparation stages for the full-scale mass production of HBM4 and has already provided samples to Nvidia. Samsung Electronics is also expected to commence full-scale mass production of HBM4 within this year.

"We will maintain our leading position through performance, mass production capability, and quality," the company added.

Industry tracker Counterpoint Research recently estimated that by 2026, SK Hynix will capture 54% of the global HBM4 market, surpassing Samsung Electronics (28%) and Micron Technology (18%).