Samsung Foundry, which carries out the semiconductor manufacturing activities of Samsung Electronics, has made a remarkable financial development after a long period of losses. According to new news from South Korea, the company managed to make a profit on a monthly basis for the first time in nearly three years as of June 2026. The recent improvement in production efficiency and the increase in demand for advanced production processes played a decisive role in the emergence of this result. If the current situation is maintained, it is evaluated that Samsung Foundry can reach profitability again on a quarterly basis in the third quarter of 2026.
According to Bloter’s report, one of the biggest factors in Samsung Foundry’s profit in June was the significant increase in the capacity utilization rate in the 4 nanometer production line. The increase in the production of base dies, especially those used in high bandwidth memory (HBM) solutions, has contributed to the more efficient operation of factories. In addition, the increase in production efficiency increased the rate of usable chips while reducing costs. Production efficiency, called “yield” in the semiconductor industry, refers to the rate at which the produced chips successfully pass the quality control processes. Increasing this ratio makes it possible to obtain more salable products with the same production capacity.
HBM production stands out in Samsung Foundry’s recovery process
The base die in HBM memory packages serves as the logic chip underneath the DRAM layers stacked on top of each other. This component manages data communication between HBM memory and the graphics processor (GPU) and serves a critical function, especially in artificial intelligence accelerators. While Samsung Foundry produces these core chips, Samsung’s memory division develops DRAM and HBM memory solutions. The company’s HBM products are currently used in artificial intelligence systems of technology companies such as AMD, Google and Nvidia. The continuing increase in demand for artificial intelligence-focused hardware is among the factors that support the need for Samsung’s advanced production technologies.
Samsung Foundry has faced serious challenges in recent years. Failure to achieve the desired efficiency level in advanced production processes, large customers such as Nvidia and Qualcomm largely directing their orders to TSMC, and factories operating at low capacity negatively affected the company’s financial performance. In addition, TSMC’s strong position in advanced production technologies, which is the world’s largest contract semiconductor manufacturer, was one of the factors limiting Samsung’s competitive power.
Samsung does not disclose the financial results of its foundry operations as separate items. Despite this, according to industry analysts’ calculations, the total operating loss of the Foundry and System LSI divisions was approximately 2.5 trillion South Korean won in 2023. This figure is estimated to rise to 5.3 trillion won in 2024 and approximately 6 trillion won in 2025. From this perspective, the monthly profit achieved in June is considered a remarkable recovery signal for the company.
On the other hand, there is also talk about the possibility of Samsung Foundry gaining new customers in the coming period. In recent news, it has been claimed that artificial intelligence companies such as Anthropic and Meta may make an agreement with Samsung for chip production. If these agreements become official, it may be possible for the company to use its production capacity at higher levels and support its financial performance. In addition, the announcement that a chip production agreement worth approximately $16.5 billion was signed with Tesla at the beginning of the year was among the notable developments for Samsung Foundry.
However, competitive conditions still remain challenging for Samsung. The fact that Intel Foundry has become more visible recently is among the developments that may change the balance in the industry. Allegations that Apple is considering the Intel Foundry option for the production of some chips it will use in the future also indicate that this competition may become stronger. While June’s monthly profit is a positive development, Samsung Foundry will need to both continue to acquire new customers and maintain efficiency in its advanced manufacturing processes to turn this into a sustainable financial recovery.