Samsung foundry profit rebound may come in 3Q26 as 2nm orders rise 130% - digitimes

Samsung Electronics' foundry business may achieve profit recovery as early as Q3 2026, earlier than previously expected for late 2026 to 2027. This improvement stems from enhanced yield rates, increas... Read original →

Samsung Foundry’s earlier-than-expected profit rebound stems not merely from order volume but from a yield breakthrough in its 2nm EUV process, triggering cascading effects across the tech stack. Upstream, ASML benefits from intensified EUV layer adoption; downstream, surging HBM base-die demand forces reallocation of CoWoS and TSV packaging capacity. Amid U.S.-EU subsidies pushing semiconductor localization, Samsung’s Korean fabs face heightened export compliance scrutiny, raising hidden operational costs. TSMC will likely accelerate A16/A14 rollout and restrict HBM-integrated capacity to counter Samsung’s AI foundry push. Over the next 18 months, if Samsung expands 2nm clients beyond NVIDIA and Qualcomm to include more China-based AI chip designers, its market share could climb from 12% to 18%—though geopolitical-driven supply chain redundancy will cap gross margin recovery.