Foundry business in position for 'leap forward'
Flags citing rising component prices, global tariff risk
SK Hynix says AI demand now a given, not upside surprise
Updates share performance
By Heekyong Yang and Hyunjoo Jin
SEOUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics 005930.KS customers have praised the differentiated competitiveness of its next-generation high-bandwidth memory $(HBM)$ chips, or HBM4, saying "Samsung is back", co-CEO and chip chief Jun Young-hyun said in a New Year address.
In October, Samsung said it was in "close discussion" to supply its HBM4 to U.S. artificial intelligence leader Nvidia NVDA.O, as the South Korean chipmaker scrambles to catch rivals including compatriot SK Hynix in AI chips.
"On HBM4 in particular, customers have even stated that 'Samsung is back'," Jun said in remarks reviewed by Reuters, adding that the company still had work to do to further improve competitiveness.
SK Hynix 000660.KS CEO Kwak Noh-Jung said in New Year remarks reviewed by Reuters that the company benefited from favourable external conditions as demand for artificial-intelligence chips materialised faster than expected.
He said competition was intensifying rapidly, noting that AI demand was now a given rather than an upside surprise, and that the business environment in 2026 would be tougher than last year, while stressing that the need for continued bolder investment and effort to prepare for the future.
SK Hynix was the leading player in the HBM market in the third quarter of 2025 with a 53% share, followed by Samsung at 35% and Micron at 11%, data from Counterpoint Research showed.
Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix ended up 7.2% and 4%, respectively, on the first trading day of the year, hitting record highs and outperforming the benchmark KOSPI’s .KS11 2.3% gain.
Turning to the foundry business, which manufactures chips designed by customers, Samsung's Jun said recent supply deals with major global customers had left the foundry business "primed for a great leap forward."
In July, Samsung Electronics signed a $16.5 billion deal with Tesla TSLA.O.
In a separate address, Samsung Electronics' co-CEO TM Roh, who also heads the company's device experience division overseeing its mobile phone, TV and home appliance businesses, said 2026 was likely to bring greater uncertainty and risks, citing rising component prices and global tariff barriers.
"To position ourselves to maintain a competitive advantage in any situation, we will reinforce our core competitiveness through proactive supply chain diversification and optimisation of global operations to address issues like component sourcing and pricing, and global tariff risks," Roh said.
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Christopher Cushing and Kate Mayberry)
((Heekyong.Yang@thomsonreuters.com;))
