[News] Samsung Chip Division Profit Plunges 90% in Q2; H2 Hopes on HBM3E, 2nm

Just days after clinching a $16.5 billion deal with Tesla, South Korean memory giant Samsung posted Q2 results, showing a steep 55% drop in overall operating profit, as highlighted by Reuters. However, as Chosun Daily points out, its semiconductor business took an even harder hit, with profit plunging 94% year-over-year.

According to Samsung’s press release, its Q2 revenue rose 0.7% year-over-year to 74.6 trillion won, in line with its forecast. However, operating profit plunged to 4.7 trillion won ($3.37 billion)—hit by HBM chip shipment delays and U.S. export curbs on advanced chips to China, Reuters reports. Net profit fell 48.01% to 5.12 trillion won.

Notably, as the reports suggest, Samsung’s chip division logged just 400 billion won in Q2 profit—plunging from 6.5 trillion won a year ago and slipping below the 1 trillion won mark for the first time in six quarters.

While its semiconductor unit’s Q2 revenue dipped just 2% thanks to stronger sales of server memory, profitability took a major hit as the company preemptively reflected valuation losses on unsold memory inventory, as per Chosun Daily.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s smartphone and network units delivered a strong Q2 performance, posting 3.1 trillion won in operating profit—a 40.9% jump from a year ago. Chosun Daily highlights steady Galaxy S25 sales and robust demand for the mid-range A series and tablets as key drivers behind the healthy profits. The network division also gained momentum with growing overseas sales, the report notes.

2H Rebound on HBM3E, 2nm Momentum

However, the company anticipates a rebound in the second half of 2025. As Chosun Daily notes, Samsung plans to ramp up sales by capitalizing on rising server memory demand, with hopes that NVIDIA will soon approve its HBM3E chip in upcoming quality tests.

A SM Daily report, citing industry analysts, reveals that Samsung is expected to complete verification of its 12-layer HBM3E with NVIDIA in August, with supply set to kick off in the second half of the year. On top of that, the report notes Samsung is also targeting NVIDIA certification for its upcoming HBM4 products later this year.

Riding high from the $16.5 billion, 8-year megadeal with Tesla, Samsung’s foundry business will be laser-focused on boosting yield for its 2nm GAA process as it aims to attract more big-name clients, Chosun Daily reports.

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(Photo credit: Samsung)