Overview
- Analysts project operating profits approaching 100 trillion won (about $68 billion) each for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix next year, with both expected to top 15 trillion won in the fourth quarter on surging memory prices.
- Samsung is lifting utilization and has restarted framework construction of its Pyeongtaek Line 5 fab, slated for 2028 operations, while SK hynix readies its M15X plant and accelerates the first fab at the Yongin cluster.
- Micron says demand far exceeds supply and has finalized pricing and volume agreements that sell out its 2026 HBM output, with the company describing the current DRAM supply gap as the largest it has seen.
- Forecasts point to rapid market growth, including Omdia’s estimate that global DRAM revenue will reach $170 billion in 2026, even as investors parse mixed AI infrastructure signals from Oracle and Broadcom.
- Experts caution that Samsung’s DRAM windfall may not close its foundry gap with TSMC, with reports putting initial Exynos 2600 yields near 50 percent and a 70 percent target, and the company is reportedly probing employee bribery tied to memory allocation.