Chipmaking giant SK hynix Inc. has surpassed its biggest rival, Samsung Electronics Inc., for the first time ever in terms of quarterly profit, data showed Tuesday, as its robust sales of artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips pushed up its fourth-quarter figures to record highs.

South Korea’s SK Hynix posted an operating profit of 8.08 trillion won ($5.6 billion) in the December quarter, slightly above the 8 trillion won average forecast by LSEG SmartEstimate. The company also boosted its annual dividend by 25% to 1,

South Korea's SK Hynix forecast sales of its high-end semiconductors used in generative artificial intelligence chipsets would more than double this year, after reporting a quarterly profit record that beat a results estimate for rival Samsung.