Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), the world's second-largest contract chipmaker, has signaled that its loss-making foundry business will take longer than previously hoped to break even. Han Jin-man, president of the foundry unit within Samsung's Device Solutions (DS) chip division, told employees at an online-and-offline management briefing on Friday, June 12, that "turning the foundry business profitable next year does not look easy," pointing to 2028 as the more realistic target for a turnaround, according to The Korea Herald. He added that "ultimately, management is responsible for the losses."
The immediate question for investors is how large a hole the foundry business is in, and whether the turnaround thesis still holds. By size, the gap with the market leader has rarely looked wider. In the first quarter of 2026, Samsung's foundry arm generated about USD 3.2 billion in revenue for a 6.5% global share, while TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.), the world's largest foundry, booked roughly USD 35.86 billion and 72.3% share — leaving TSMC about 11 times larger than Samsung's foundry business, per data from TrendForce, a Taiwan-based market researcher. Samsung's share has slipped year on year, from 7.7% in the first quarter of 2025.
Han attributed the continued red ink to a mix of one-off and structural factors: costs tied to special performance-based incentives, a slow reduction in reliance on mobile clients, insufficient technology readiness, low-margin orders, and weaknesses in its strategy for mature (legacy) process nodes, according to The Korea Herald's account of the briefing. He nonetheless told staff the company has "the technology and execution capability needed to regain our competitiveness."
A target that keeps slipping
The 2028 framing marks a retreat from earlier guidance. In November 2025, Samsung was reported to be aiming for foundry profitability by 2027 alongside a roughly 20% market-share goal, per TrendForce coverage at the time. The latest comments effectively push that breakeven horizon out by a year.
Not everyone shares management's caution. Some industry analysts have argued the foundry unit could approach a quarterly profit turnaround as early as the third quarter of 2026, citing a sharp rise in advanced 2-nanometer orders, according to a June 9 report from Digitimes. One concrete demand signal is a multi-year supply deal with Tesla for AI6 chips that The Korea Herald valued at 22 trillion won (USD 14.5 billion). The tension between management's 2028 message and the more bullish near-term analyst calls is the crux of the debate.
What to watch
The data point that will confirm or refute the optimistic case is Samsung's next quarterly earnings, where the DS division's foundry losses and the ramp of its 2-nanometer node will show whether the order pipeline is translating into margin. Until then, Han's own words set a deliberately low bar for the near term.
Separately, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong appeared the same day at a Korea-Italy business roundtable in Rome, co-hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and its Italian counterpart on the sidelines of President Lee Jae-myung's state visit, where the two governments discussed cooperation on AI and supply chains, according to Chosun Biz. The event underscored Samsung leadership's visibility abroad even as its core chip-manufacturing business works through a prolonged loss-making stretch at home.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Figures are drawn from cited reporting and market-research data and may be revised. Readers should consult primary disclosures and qualified advisers before making investment decisions.
Sources
- https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10770847
- https://www.sammyfans.com/2026/06/12/samsung-tsmc-chip-foundry-business-trendforce-q1-2026/
- https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20260609VL214/samsung-profit-2nm-business-2026.html
- https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/11/13/news-samsung-reportedly-eyes-foundry-profitability-by-2027-with-20-market-share/
- https://biz.chosun.com/policy/politics/president_office/2026/06/12/DQU3KYZW55B3TN3FKUYJVSM5QQ/
- https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260612137700003
