Samsung Electronics could return its foundry unit to profit as early as the third quarter of 2026, earlier than expected, according to industry sources, as production of 2-nanometer chips and base dies for high-bandwidth memory increases.

Samsung’s first-quarter yield for its 2-nanometer gate-all-around process reportedly rose above 60%.

Customer contracts signed last year are also expected to start contributing revenue in the second half, including Tesla’s 22.8 trillion won (US$14.8 billion) deal for autonomous-driving chips that Samsung plans to produce at its Taylor, Texas, plant.

That would mark a turnaround for a business that was still posting operating losses in the second quarter of 2025.

Foundry fab utilization was expected to average in the low-60% range in the first half of 2026, up from the 50% range in the second half of 2025.

HBM base-die demand could also help because those chips are moving to foundry production from HBM4 onward.

Samsung may also benefit if rival TSMC’s tight 1Q26 capacity pushes some chip designers to consider other suppliers.

🔗 Source: The Chosun Daily

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