Samsung Foundry Revival… Q1 Utilization Surpasses 80%, Breakeven as Early as Q4 This Year Samsung Electronics' (005930) semiconductor foundry utilization rates have surpassed 80%, led by leading-edge nodes, with earnings improving rapidly. As chips developed in-house using Samsung's foundry—including 6th-generation HBM4 and Exynos 2600—have proven their performance, orders from global big tech companies are flooding in, making quarterly profitability within the year highly likely. According to industry sources on the 22nd, utilization at Samsung Electronics' Pyeongtaek Campus P2 and P3 foundry production lines climbed to the 80% range in Q1. These lines, which produce semiconductors on mature nodes including 4nm, 5nm, and 7nm, struggled with insufficient production volume in H2 2024, with utilization falling well below 50% last year. However, since H2 last year, Samsung's foundry division has applied its 4nm process to HBM4 base dies for the memory division, achieving the industry's best-in-class performance and driving a surge in order volume. On top of this, big tech companies from both the U.S. and China are placing successive chip production requests, with Samsung's semiconductor business spreading both wings wide. A source well-versed in Samsung's semiconductor production noted, "With orders from global big tech continuing to grow, centered on mature nodes, foundry utilization will comfortably exceed 80% in the first half of this year." Production volume on Samsung Foundry's cutting-edge 2nm process is also increasing, brightening the earnings outlook. Samsung's in-house mobile application processor (AP), Exynos 2600, is being produced on the 2nm node, and with its performance reportedly surpassing Qualcomm's chips, supply volume for the Galaxy S26 is expected to increase. Accordingly, Samsung Electronics' non-memory division (Foundry + System LSI) is expected to achieve an earnings turnaround as early as Q4. In particular, starting next year—when production of Tesla's AI5 chip, Apple's image sensors, and other products ramps—overall operating profit is likely to swing to positive. An industry source noted, "With the foundry business recovering, Samsung Electronics' competitiveness as an integrated semiconductor company will be significantly strengthened."