Samsung’s foundry enterprise lately began displaying indicators of regular restoration. Trade now expects the Korean foundry to achieve its fab utilization fee round 60% within the first half of 2026. This reveals the corporate is heading in the right direction to steadily slender the profitability hole.
Samsung Foundry could proceed to indicate a gradual comeback
In recent times, Samsung suffered substantial losses in its foundry division as a consequence of weak demand for its cutting-edge 3nm chips and an absence of key shoppers. The corporate’s non-memory division noticed working losses of round 2 trillion Korean gained within the first and second quarters of 2025. Nonetheless, the losses had been decreased to about 1 trillion gained within the third and fourth quarters. That is primarily due to elevated manufacturing in its core nodes, corresponding to 4nm and 8nm. On high of that, it has reduce its older 8-inch (200mm) wafer output to prioritize superior 12-inch (300mm) node manufacturing.
Now it seems to be just like the restoration is continuous into 2026. In keeping with ZDNET Korea, Samsung’s foundry fab utilization fee might attain round 60% within the first half of the yr. This is a rise from round 50% within the second half of 2025. The reason being that the corporate is now seeing demand for each core and cutting-edge semiconductor nodes.
Samsung started mass manufacturing of its newest 2nm cell chip, the Exynos 2600, on the finish of 2025. The chip will probably energy some upcoming Galaxy S26 and S26+ items. Whereas the yield continues to be round 50% per wafer, this reveals the agency’s means to make superior chips at scale.
Nonetheless, business analysts counsel that Samsung’s foundry division ought to attain a fab utilization fee of round 80% to interrupt even. Meaning the corporate nonetheless has some method to go earlier than making its non-memory division worthwhile. Key chip-making offers, such because the $16.5 billion contract with Tesla, ought to play a key function in growing utilization within the coming years.
