SK Hynix, Samsung And Kioxia Face Pivotal Earnings Test On AI Swings

Highlights to look out for:

Monday: No notable earnings.

Tuesday: Singapore Airlines' (SIA SP) first-quarter earnings may suffer from higher fuel costs and continued Air India losses, said UOB Kay Hian. However, an advantageous fuel-hedging position against regional peers could drive a recovery next year, even as the carrier faces ongoing US-Iran geopolitical risks.

• Hindustan Unilever (HUVR IN) should post higher revenue, benefiting from recovering underlying volume growth, price hikes and reduced quantities across categories to offset rising input costs. Commentary on the outlook for raw material prices will be closely watched.
• Larsen & Toubro (LT IN) earnings are seen flat due to weak project execution in the Middle East. While a majority of sites remain operational, execution has been affected by supply chain bottlenecks, including delays in movement of equipment and materials, elevated freight and insurance costs, and constraints around logistics and manpower mobilization, analysts at Nuvama said.

Wednesday: SK Hynix's (000660 KS) profits continue to be driven by higher average selling prices of its DRAM and NAND products essential for its broader AI investment plan. Both segments are expected to see its fastest revenue growth since at least 2010. Chief Executive Officer Kwak Noh-Jung expects memory-chip shortages to persist beyond 2030 in a scramble to ramp up AI demand. The company on Thursday capped the amount of Korean-listed shares that can be converted into its ADRs.

• Nomura's (8604 JP) first-quarter earnings come after the company rewarded Chief Executive Officer Kentaro Okuda with a 36% pay rise on the back of the firm's highest ever annual profit last year. The company has already flagged that wholesale revenue is tracking well ahead year-on-year in the first quarter.
• Standard Chartered's (STAN LN) wealth business could be under strain from China's capital curbs, said Bloomberg Intelligence. Its newly appointed chief financial officer and plans to cut more corporate function roles in the long term could be in focus.

Thursday: Samsung Electronics' (005930 KS) memory business continued to benefit from higher DRAM and NAND prices and rising HBM shipments, supporting second-quarter earnings. Analysts also see improving foundry utilization from AI chip orders and expect stronger HBM4 demand to support profit growth into the second half. Earlier this month, Samsung reported preliminary operating profit of 89.4 trillion won ($61 billion), topping estimates by about 6%, though the results did little to ease investor concerns after the stock's strong run.

• Mizuho (8411 JP), SMFG (8316 JP) and MUFG (8306 JP) stand to benefit if the giant Government Pension Investment Fund increases its allocation to domestic assets, said Yukihiro Kawanishi, a senior strategist at Aizawa Securities, pointing to recent comments from Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama that suggest the government is pushing for such a move. Net income for all three lenders should have grown by double digits in the first quarter. SMFG is set to report Friday with MUFG due to the week after.

Friday: Kioxia Holdings (285A JP) should have more than doubled its earnings from the prior quarter as the NAND flash memory pioneer, which briefly became Japan's most valuable firm in June, has been a major beneficiary of surging AI-related demand. Given the multiyear lead times required to bring new memory fabs online, a severe supply-demand imbalance may not abate until 2028 or later, BI said, adding that NAND pricing could increase more than 300% in 2026 and continue to rise in 2027.

• Sony Group (6758 JP) is set to report modest first-quarter operating profit growth, driven by its image sensor business. The Tokyo-based company should benefit from demand for advanced chips used in high-end smartphones, even as higher memory chip costs weigh on profit margins from PlayStation console sales, BI said, adding that its restructuring of several low-margin businesses in the previous quarter likely helped boost profitability.
• Mediatek's (2454 TT) preliminary sales topped estimates, with the focus now turning to whether edge AI adoption and September price increases can sustain growth in the second half, given sluggish mobile demand from memory inflation, said BI.

ALSO READ: Infosys Faces A Tougher FY27. Analysts Say The Guidance Cut Is The Bigger Story