SK Hynix’s booming profits fail to ease AI-spending concerns

SK Hynix posted a record Q2 operating profit up 557% year over year but fell short of lofty expectations, fueling investor concerns about whether AI-driven memory spending can sustain its rapid pace; the company said it will raise 2026 capex by about 50% to at least $31 billion to expand AI memory production, prompting price-target cuts from Barclays and Susquehanna as chip stocks drop on oversupply fears ahead of results from Microsoft, Amazon and Meta and amid ongoing rate worries.