SEOUL — SK Hynix on Wednesday reported record second-quarter revenue and profit that fell short of analyst expectations, and its Seoul-listed shares closed 9.61 percent lower after falling as much as 15 percent intraday, as South Korea's finance minister apologized to lawmakers for the retail-investor losses now spreading through the country's chip rout.

The apology from Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol, delivered in a parliamentary session, capped a week in which the world's 20 largest chip stocks have shed more than $1.3 trillion in market value since Friday's close, according to a CNBC analysis of FactSet data. Nvidia led the decline with a $238 billion drop, followed by SK Hynix at $176 billion, Samsung Electronics at $173 billion and Micron at $113 billion.

The numbers that missed

SK Hynix said second-quarter revenue jumped 257 percent from a year earlier and operating profit rose nearly 557 percent, up 51 percent and 61 percent respectively from the previous quarter. First-half revenue exceeded 100 trillion won for the first time in company history, and gross margin reached 83 percent.

The figures still trailed the LSEG SmartEstimates, which weight forecasts from analysts with the best track records. Investors treated the miss as evidence that Nvidia's $500 billion multiyear memory deal, unveiled Friday at an AI summit attended by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, would not justify prices set during the run-up. SK Hynix's U.S.-listed shares traded 3.4 percent lower in New York.

The apology

Koo accepted the demand for an apology after May's introduction of single-stock leveraged Exchange Traded Funds triggered a retail buying frenzy that has now reversed. Korean retail investors have made net purchases of 14 trillion won, or $9.7 billion, of the products since May 27, according to KB Financial Group, against about 2 trillion won from foreign investors.

The KODEX SK Hynix Single Stock Leverage ETF, which aims to deliver twice the daily move in SK Hynix shares, has fallen more than 80 percent from its June 23 peak, according to LSEG data. The equivalent Samsung product has dropped nearly 75 percent from its June 3 peak. The Kospi has lost roughly 35 percent over the past month after more than doubling between January and mid-June.

Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon told the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee the regulator is considering restricting the products to professional investors and lowering the two-times leverage multiple. According to the Seoul Economic Daily, Lee said: "Since [the tracking multiple of] two times is too large, lowering it would likely have an effect in terms of easing volatility."

Beyond Seoul

The pain traveled. Kioxia fell 13.85 percent in Tokyo, Tokyo Electron dropped 10.59 percent, and SoftBank Group, an AI proxy through its Arm stake, lost 6.95 percent. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. slipped 3.51 percent and has shed $119 billion in market value since Friday; AMD has lost about $110 billion over the same window. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has fallen nearly 20 percent over the past month, paring a 12-month gain that still stands at 92 percent.

Analysts split on whether the drop is overdone. "This decline appears to be driven largely by sentiment rather than fundamentals," said Michael Field, chief equity strategist at Morningstar. "Simply put, it's loss of confidence," he added. Josh Gilbert of eToro pointed to SK Hynix's 83 percent gross margin as evidence pricing power remains intact. "That doesn't exist in a market where demand is drying up; it exists in one where customers are fighting over supply," he said. Aberdeen's Kieron Poon said the recent volatility "has not changed our long-term positive view." Forrester's Charlie Dai said, "Investors are reassessing whether near-term revenues can justify unprecedented AI spending levels, while some also worry about growing competition in chips and AI infrastructure."

The counterpoint

Today's framing draws only on center-tier wires. The reporting captures a market-internal split — bears citing capex and rising Chinese competition, bulls calling the selloff overdone — but does not include partisan-outlet views on the retail-loss politics or on Washington's role in either the Nvidia deal or the chip supply chain.

Korean regulators are weighing new leverage limits that would require fresh legislation. SK Hynix's Nasdaq-listed shares, priced at $149 at their July 9 debut, are now trading well below that offer, setting up a New York session that will test whether the record earnings floor holds.