Samsung Foundry Eyes 2H26 Full Utilization as HBM4 Base Dies and U.S. Orders Fuel Turnaround Hopes

　　At last week’s earnings call, Samsung surprised the market with a strong performance, driven almost entirely by its memory business, which contributed 99.7% of total operating profit. While the foundry unit remained in the red, a turnaround could come sooner than expected, with Chosun Biz reporting that Samsung Foundry aims to reach 100% capacity utilization by the second half of this year, up from the current 70%–80% range.

　　According to Newsis, Samsung’s non-memory businesses, including Foundry and System LSI, are estimated to have posted a loss of around KRW 600 billion in 2Q. The improvement has fueled expectations of an earlier-than-expected turnaround, with some industry observers speculating that profitability could return within this year, ahead of Han Jin-man’s previously cited 2028 timeline, the report adds.

　　The most bullish outlook may come from HuffPost Korea, which cited an analyst report projecting that Samsung Foundry could return to profitability as early as the third quarter. The forecast was based on the ramp-up of HBM4 base die production and increased output of Samsung’s in-house Exynos application processors, according to the report.

　　Chosun Biz attributes Samsung Foundry’s utilization recovery to stronger demand for advanced products, particularly HBM base dies as well as growing orders from major U.S. tech customers. The improvement marks a sharp reversal from last year, when utilization at key nodes such as 4nm and 5nm fell below 50%, according to the report.

　　Samsung’s 2nm Gains Traction Despite Yield Hurdles

　　Still, the recovery of advanced nodes and further yield improvements will determine whether Samsung Foundry can sustain its turnaround momentum. According to Chosun Biz, Samsung needs to raise 2nm yields to around 70% to secure large-scale mass production contracts, with current yields estimated at roughly 60%.

　　Despite the remaining 2nm yield challenges, Samsung is gaining traction among global tech giants. According to News1, Samsung is expanding advanced-node engagements with major customers such as Broadcom, with 2nm order volume expected to more than double this year from last year’s level.

　　The Information also reported earlier that while Google plans to have TSMC manufacture the main computing die for its next-generation TPU, codenamed “Icefish,” Samsung could be tapped to produce an I/O-related component that connects the chip to memory using its 2nm technology.

　　Meanwhile, Samsung is already reshaping its business mix. As noted by Chosun Biz, advanced-node processes are expected to account for more than 50% of the company’s foundry revenue this year, while AI and HPC-related sales are projected to rise from the high-teens percentage range last year to over 30%.