Samsung Electronics' semiconductor business used its No. 1 market share in DRAM and NAND to absorb the benefits of rising memory prices directly and post a record quarterly performance. Fourth-quarter DRAM average selling prices rose about 40 percent from the previous quarter, while NAND rose by the mid-20 percent range. The figures far exceeded securities firms' forecasts of 31 percent for DRAM and 18 percent for NAND. Samsung Electronics is seen as having maximised its pricing power in negotiations as it took the lead in a supply shortage.

Samsung Electronics said on Jan. 29 its fourth-quarter 2025 revenue from the semiconductor (DS) division was 44 trillion won and operating profit was 16.4 trillion won. The memory business posted its best quarterly results on record. On an annual basis, it achieved revenue of 333.61 trillion won and operating profit of 43.6 trillion won.

Kim Jae-joon (김재준), a vice president of the memory business, said server demand far exceeded industry supply as hyperscalers expanded capital spending amid a race to preempt the AI market. The company focused on improving profitability by responding with high value-added products amid low inventory levels and constrained supply, he said.

A key driver of the earnings improvement was a shift in product mix. For DRAM, it met demand mainly with high bandwidth memory (HBM) and high-capacity DDR5 and LPDDR5X for servers. Kim said it set a new record for per-bit sales in servers and posted an ASP rise of about 40 percent from the previous quarter.

For NAND ASP, factors such as expanded QLC sales and discontinuation of planar NAND made the rise in blended ASP per bit appear somewhat lower. Even so, Kim said it posted a rise in the mid-20 percent range from the previous quarter, driven by a server-focused product mix and an overall increase in market prices. The company said it focused on server SSD sales within limited available capacity, raising the share of server sales by about 10 percentage points from the previous quarter.

The price-setting power gap stemming from suppliers' positions is notable. The industry had forecast fourth-quarter DRAM prices would rise by the low-30 percent range from the previous quarter and NAND by the high-teens range. Samsung Electronics' rises of 40 percent and the mid-20 percent range were well above the market average. It is seen as having secured an advantageous position in negotiations to raise prices with customers as the top market-share company.

Kim said customers moved proactively to secure supply volumes out of concern that memory shortages could disrupt set production. He added that favourable market conditions continued due to supply constraints across the industry.

HBM4 mass shipments..."This year's HBM revenue to more than triple from last year"

Samsung Electronics is going all out to secure the lead in the AI semiconductor market in 2026. The memory division said it will begin mass shipments of HBM4 from February. Kim said it has received feedback from major customers that it has secured differentiated performance competitiveness. He said mass shipments of HBM4 volumes, including the top-bin 11.7 Gbps product, are scheduled from February.

HBM revenue is expected to surge accordingly. Kim said the company's 2026 HBM revenue will improve sharply to more than three times the previous year. He stressed that, for capacity prepared as of now, it has completed securing purchase orders for all volumes from customers. He added major customers hope to finalise supply discussions early for 2027 and later volumes as well.

It is also targeting the server DRAM market. Kim said it will respond flexibly by balancing supplies of HBM and server DRAM to support healthy and sustainable growth in demand linked to AI applications. For NAND, it plans to strengthen its market response centred on TLC products as demand for TLC-based PCIe Gen6 SSDs for key-value SSD uses is expected to grow steeply.

Samsung Electronics CFO Park Soon-cheol (박순철) stressed it would not miss the chance to secure leadership in the AI semiconductor market, based on its strength as the world's only semiconductor company capable of a one-stop solution spanning logic, memory, foundry and advanced packaging.

Capital spending in 2026 is also expected to increase significantly from a year earlier. Kim said investment will rise to utilise new fabs and cleanroom space. He said the company will accelerate securing advanced process capacity centred on 1c nano for DRAM and V9 for NAND.