Samsung Electronics' foundry division is poised for a recovery centered on 2nm process leadership and HBM base-die demand. The company expects its 2nm project wins to more than double year-on-year in 2026, with design engagements from major cloud service providers, HPC customers, and chipmaker Broadcom. During its Q2 2026 earnings call, Samsung disclosed that it has already secured 2nm projects from a major cloud service provider (CSP) and HPC customers who have commenced design work. The company is simultaneously in advanced discussions with Broadcom on 2nm manufacturing, building on their announced $200 billion memorandum of understanding signed for a five-year collaboration spanning memory and foundry technologies.
Samsung's foundry business is targeting double-digit revenue growth in the second half of 2026, driven by strong U.S. and Chinese customer demand across all process nodes. The company's differentiated advantage lies in its integrated HBM4 base-die manufacturing capability—a package-level solution competitors TSMC and Intel struggle to replicate at comparable cost and complexity. Samsung shipped industry-first HBM4E samples in H1 2026 and is ramping HBM4 mass production ahead of schedule, capitalizing on market-wide supply constraints. The June 2026 return to monthly profitability in the foundry business marks a turning point after years of losses.
For architects: Samsung's 2nm momentum represents the first meaningful foundry threat to TSMC in over a decade. Watch: (1) whether Samsung closes major design wins with Broadcom and cloud customers (orders expected to be formalized in H2 2026); (2) yield parity with TSMC's N2 during volume production ramping; (3) Taylor, Texas fab timeline slippage (originally H2 2026, now widely expected Q1 2027); and (4) whether HBM4/HBM4E bundling becomes a negotiating tool that drives Samsung share gains vs. SK Hynix and Samsung in memory.