Samsung Elec estimates best-ever income $14 bn for Q4 and $30 bn for full 2025 SEOUL, January 08 (AJP) -Samsung Electronics reported record 20 trillion won ($14 billion) in operating profit for the quarter ended December and 43.5 trillion won for full-year 2025 — driven by the so-called “hyper bull” cycle in memory chips amid widening artificial intelligence adoption. In its earnings guidance released Thursday, the South Korean tech giant said it is estimated to have raked in 20 trillion won in operating profit for the October–December period, up 208 percent from a year earlier and above the market consensus of 19.6 trillion won compiled by FnGuide. Revenue amounted to 93 trillion won, up 22.7 percent from a year ago and also a record three-month figure. For the full year, operating profit reached 43.53 trillion won, while revenue totaled 332.8 trillion won, up 33 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively. The company, whose business spans chips, smartphones and consumer electronics, will release detailed figures for each division in its finalized earnings report on Jan. 29. Investment banks estimate that the chip division generated about 17 trillion won in operating profit in the fourth quarter, reflecting gains of 36 percent and 15 percent in average selling prices for DRAM and NAND products, respectively, from the previous three-month period. According to market tracker TrendForce, mass-market DRAM prices jumped 45 to 50 percent in the final quarter of 2025, while average DRAM prices — including high-bandwidth memory — rose 50 to 55 percent. NAND flash memory prices increased 33 to 38 percent. 2026-01-08 07:52:31

[[CES 2026]] CES 2026 Sneak peek: Samsung and LG turn exhibition spaces into experience hubs SEOUL, January 07 (AJP) - 2026-01-07 17:35:00

Samsung Elec shares hit record high on red-hot earnings outlook ahead of Q4 guidance SEOUL, January 07 (AJP) - Shares of Samsung Electronics climbed to a fresh record high Wednesday, extending a near-nonstop rally since late December as investors bet on the company’s strongest quarterly and annual earnings in seven years. The stock has surged about 32 percent since Dec. 22, rising from a Dec. 19 close of 106,300 won to 141,000 won Wednesday, amid mounting optimism over a renewed memory supercycle fueled by artificial intelligence demand. Samsung Electronics will release its guidance for fourth-quarter and full-year earnings before the market opens in Seoul on Thursday. The rally has been driven by a sharp tightening in the global memory market, spanning legacy DRAM products to cutting-edge high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI accelerators. Rapid adoption of AI applications has triggered aggressive stockpiling, pushing demand well ahead of supply. “Demand for DRAM and NAND currently exceeds supply by more than 30 percent, and Samsung is positioned to benefit most from the tightening market,” said Kim Dong-won, head of research at KB Securities, in a recent report. KB Securities on Tuesday raised its estimate for Samsung’s operating profit for the October–December period to 20.3 trillion won ($14.0 billion), the highest quarterly level since the third quarter of 2018, when profits peaked during the previous memory supercycle. Quarterly revenue is projected at around 90 trillion won ($62.0 billion), led by a strong rebound in the semiconductor business as memory prices surged. The brokerage estimates that operating profit at Samsung’s device solutions (DS) division reached 16.3 trillion won in the fourth quarter, supported by quarter-on-quarter price gains of 41 percent for DRAM and 20 percent for NAND. Looking ahead, KB Securities raised its target price for Samsung to 180,000 won, citing expectations that operating profit in 2026 could reach 123 trillion won—nearly triple last year’s level—as HBM shipments accelerate and AI server demand continues to expand. The firm forecasts that Samsung’s HBM shipments will triple next year, with market share expected to double as the company secures new supply contracts with major global customers, including Nvidia and Google. Broader sentiment toward memory and semiconductor stocks has also been supported by comments from Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia, at CES 2026 in Las Vegas. Huang said Nvidia’s next-generation chips are now in “full production,” reinforcing expectations of sustained demand for AI infrastructure and underpinning the current memory upcycle. 2026-01-07 16:41:14

Samsung taps K-pop star RIIZE to showcase "everyday AI" at CES 2026 SEOUL, January 06 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics is highlighting how artificial intelligence is being integrated into everyday life at CES 2026 through a collaboration with six-member K-pop group RIIZE. RIIZE attended a series of events held by Samsung during the show, including its flagship “The First Look” program, as global brand ambassadors, experiencing new products and services and sharing the experience with global audiences. The group has previously worked with Samsung across multiple campaigns, including music videos for its first full album Odyssey, advertisements for the Galaxy Watch8, SmartThings social content and a Samsung Health global music project. All six members also attended Samsung’s “The First Look 2026” press conference on Jan. 4 (local time), where they were introduced to the company’s vision and new products. During the exhibition, the members selected Samsung products based on their personal interests and created short-form social media content introducing them. Member Sungchan chose Samsung’s 130-inch Micro RGB TV — billed by the company as the world’s first — and appeared in a video with fellow member Wonbin watching a football match on the screen. The video highlights Samsung’s “AI Soccer Mode,” which analyzes scenes in real time and automatically optimizes picture and sound quality, according to the company. Content featuring RIIZE will be released sequentially from Jan. 5 (local time) on Samsung’s YouTube channel and the group’s official social media platforms. Samsung is also operating a standalone exhibition space from Jan. 4 to 7, where visitors can experience AI-powered sound through products such as the “Music Studio 5” speaker and “The Freestyle+” portable projector, using RIIZE tracks including “Boom Boom Bass” and “Fly Up.” The Music Studio 5 speaker features an art-inspired design, while the Freestyle+ projector offers upgraded image-correction functions such as “3D Auto Keystone,” which optimizes display even on non-flat surfaces like curtains or corners. “Through our collaboration with K-pop artist RIIZE, we wanted young people around the world to experience and connect with Samsung’s AI technology,” Park Jung-mi, vice president and head of the Global Brand Center at Samsung Electronics’ Global Marketing Office, said. “We hope visitors will experience Samsung’s AI vision through ‘The First Look.’” RIIZE said, “After experiencing Samsung’s AI technology firsthand at ‘The First Look,’ we found it very easy and convenient to use. As K-pop artists, we are glad to share Samsung’s vision of ‘AI in everyday life.’” 2026-01-06 17:35:39

[[CES2026]] SK hynix to spotlight next-generation AI memory at CES 2026 SEOUL, January 06 (AJP) - SK hynix will showcase its next generation artificial-intelligence memory solutions at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, highlighting new high-bandwidth memory and low-power products as demand for AI infrastructure accelerates. The chipmaker will operate a customer-focused exhibition booth at the Venetian Expo from Jan. 6 to 9, shifting its emphasis from large-scale brand promotion to direct engagement with key clients, the company said. At the center of the display will be a 16-layer HBM4 product with 48 gigabytes of capacity, which SK hynix plans to unveil publicly for the first time. The company will also present its 12-layer HBM3E with 36GB, a product positioned to support near-term growth in AI servers. Beyond high-bandwidth memory, SK hynix will introduce SOCAMM2, a low-power memory module designed for AI servers, along with LPDDR6 for on-device AI applications. In NAND flash, the company plans to showcase a 321-layer 2-terabit QLC product aimed at high-capacity enterprise solid-state drives for data centers. The company will also operate an “AI System Demo Zone,” where it will demonstrate how future memory technologies — including customized HBM, processing-in-memory solutions and CXL-based memory modules — could integrate into next-generation AI systems. SK hynix said the exhibition reflects its strategy to deepen its role in AI infrastructure by expanding its portfolio of specialized memory products and strengthening collaboration with customers. “As innovation triggered by AI accelerates further, customers’ technical requirements are evolving rapidly,” said Justin Kim, president and head of AI Infrastructure at SK hynix. “We will meet those needs with differentiated memory solutions, and through close cooperation with customers, create new value that contributes to the advancement of the AI ecosystem.” 2026-01-06 14:05:32

[[CES 2026]] Samsung sets AI-led daily-use theme at CES 2026 SEOUL, January 05 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics will showcase its vision for integrating artificial intelligence into everyday life at 2026 Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2026), opening a standalone exhibition space and hosting a series of events during the annual technology trade show in Las Vegas. The South Korean tech giant said it will operate a dedicated exhibition hall at the Wynn and Encore Las Vegas from Jan. 4 to 7 (local time), alongside its annual “First Look” event, which combines product exhibitions, press briefings and forums. This year’s theme, “Your Companion to AI Living,” highlights Samsung’s push to embed AI across consumer electronics, home appliances and healthcare-related services. At the entrance of the exhibition, Samsung has installed an immersive “AI Gallery,” featuring large-scale displays and audiovisual presentations outlining its AI strategy and product ecosystem. The exhibition space is divided into three zones — entertainment, home and care — reflecting Samsung’s focus on AI-driven use cases across different aspects of daily life. The entertainment zone features large-format televisions, including a 130-inch Micro RGB TV, along with audio and gaming devices. Samsung is also demonstrating its integrated AI platform for TVs, Vision AI Companion. In the home zone, the company is showcasing AI-enabled appliances such as refrigerators, washers and robotic vacuum cleaners, including models equipped with camera, screen and voice-recognition functions. Some appliances incorporate Google’s Gemini AI assistant. The care zone focuses on health and safety solutions built around Samsung Health, Galaxy wearable devices and its SmartThings platform. Demonstrations include pet-monitoring services and home safety features. Samsung said the exhibition reflects its broader strategy to position AI not as a standalone feature, but as a core layer across its consumer electronics portfolio. CES 2026 runs from Jan. 7 to 10 in Las Vegas, with major technology companies using the event to outline product roadmaps and strategic priorities for the year ahead. 2026-01-05 16:37:46

Packaging becomes the real bottleneck in AI race — opening a window for Samsung SEOUL, January 05 (AJP) - In the premium AI chip race, supremacy is increasingly defined not by transistor density but by advanced packaging — the ability to assemble multiple high-performance chips into a single accelerator capable of handling massive workloads efficiently. Packaging was once regarded as a back-end step, sealing finished chips into protective casings and mounting them onto boards, work largely handled by outsourced assembly and test firms. In the era of AI accelerators, however, “advanced packaging” has emerged as a decisive stage of chipmaking, bringing graphics processing units (GPUs) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) into ultra-close proximity to boost performance, reduce power consumption and shorten time to market. This shift is blurring traditional boundaries between foundries and packaging specialists — and turning packaging capacity into the tightest choke point in the AI supply chain. “Advanced packaging has become essential — not optional — in the AI era. Without it, AI semiconductors simply cannot be built,” said Ahn Ki-hyun, secretary general of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association. “Globally, only two companies — TSMC and Samsung — currently possess truly advanced AI packaging capabilities.” The most sought-after advanced packaging technology today is CoWoS, short for Chips-on-Wafer-on-Substrate, developed by TSMC. The technology allows logic chips and memory stacks to be integrated on a shared substrate, a configuration essential for high-end AI accelerators. TSMC is struggling to keep up with surging demand from customers such as Nvidia, AMD and major cloud service providers. Google has reportedly scaled back its tensor processing unit (TPU) output target this year despite strong demand, as a significant portion of Taiwan’s CoWoS capacity through 2027 has been reserved for Nvidia — underscoring how critical access to packaging has become. According to TrendForce, TSMC’s monthly CoWoS capacity grew from roughly 13,000–15,000 wafers at the end of 2023 to 35,000–40,000 wafers by late 2024 that doubled to 75,000–80,000 wafers by the end of 2025. The capacity is expected to expand to 120,000 wafers or more in 2026. Even so, demand continues to outstrip supply. The imbalance has made advanced packaging the most acute bottleneck in AI chipmaking. A single 12-inch wafer typically yields only nine to 10 Nvidia H100-class chips even under near-perfect packaging yields, sharply limiting how quickly AI accelerators can reach the market. Nvidia is estimated to account for nearly half of TSMC’s CoWoS output, followed by AMD and Broadcom — which manufactures Google’s TPUs. Remaining capacity is shared among customers including Amazon Web Services, Meta and Marvell. Global shipments of high-end AI accelerators rose sharply in 2024 and are expected to climb further in 2025, intensifying competition for limited packaging slots. Supply constraints have already forced adjustments across the industry, with Google carrying over part of its planned TPU output and server makers such as Dell and Supermicro facing delivery delays that at times stretched beyond 50 weeks. The ripple effects extend beyond AI chips themselves. Prices for legacy memory such as DDR4 have jumped as manufacturers prioritize high-end AI memory, highlighting the strategic value of tightly integrated memory and packaging capabilities. Samsung’s opening The persistent bottleneck is prompting major customers to seek alternatives to TSMC’s near-dominance in advanced packaging — a shift that is bringing Samsung Electronics back into focus. Unlike most competitors, Samsung can offer a turnkey solution that combines foundry manufacturing, HBM supply and advanced packaging under one roof. “Samsung holds an integrated edge,” Ahn said. “It has HBM technology, advanced manufacturing capabilities, fabs, and the ability to package HBM together with CPUs or GPUs. If customers bring a design, Samsung can deliver a fully packaged chip.” The company’s I-Cube (2.5D) and H-Cube (3D) platforms are designed to integrate logic chips with next-generation HBM, a capability expected to grow more important as the industry moves toward custom memory designs and the HBM4 era. Samsung’s share of the combined foundry and advanced packaging market remains modest compared with TSMC, but analysts note that the gap itself underscores Samsung’s potential upside as customers pursue multi-vendor strategies to reduce supply-chain risk. “TSMC, by contrast, does not produce HBM, making it difficult to describe its offering as a full turnkey solution,” Ahn added. That strategy has begun to yield results. Samsung’s recent win to manufacture Tesla’s AI6 chip, valued at an estimated $16.5 billion, is widely seen in the industry as validation of its integrated approach. Packaging sets the pace The growing focus on packaging reflects a broader shift in how AI hardware competitiveness is measured. Even with sufficient GPU designs and memory supply, AI accelerators cannot be shipped without access to advanced packaging lines — making CoWoS and its alternatives the final gatekeeper of AI infrastructure expansion. As AI workloads scale and next-generation chips such as Nvidia’s Blackwell platform enter the market, the industry’s center of gravity is moving from transistor scaling to assembly capacity. For Samsung, the persistent packaging crunch represents less a threat than a strategic opening — one that could reshape competitive dynamics as customers increasingly prioritize supply-chain resilience over single-vendor dependence. “From the perspective of Big Tech firms, receiving a completed AI chip from a single provider is highly attractive,” Ahn said. “Given that TSMC cannot absorb all demand on its own, it is increasingly likely that orders will flow toward Samsung.” 2026-01-05 15:36:51

Samsung Electronics to kick off earnings season with bumper Q4, signaling AI-driven boom SEOUL, January 02 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics will kick off the tech sector’s preliminary fourth-quarter earnings season next week, offering an early gauge of the scale of surging demand for memory chips amid aggressive stockpiling driven by the global AI boom. Market consensus compiled by FnGuide shows the South Korean tech giant is expected to post operating profit of about 15.5 trillion won (about $10.7 billion) for the quarter ended December, more than doubling the 6.49 trillion won (about $4.5 billion) recorded a year earlier. The sharp rebound reflects strengthening prices across memory products as supply tightens and data-center investment accelerates. Prices have risen broadly across both DRAM and NAND, spanning mass-market to customized high-performance chips. Market tracker TrendForce estimates DRAM prices rose 13–18 percent in the October–December period, while NAND flash prices climbed 5–10 percent, supported by improving server demand and disciplined supply. Samsung will release a detailed breakdown by business division later this month when it publishes its final earnings report. For full-year 2025, Samsung’s operating profit is projected at around 39.15 trillion won, up roughly 20 percent from an estimated 32.7 trillion won in 2024, according to brokerage forecasts compiled in recent weeks. Against this backdrop, Jun Young-hyun, head of Samsung’s Device Solutions (DS) division, has urged employees to strengthen the company’s “technology fundamentals” across memory, logic and advanced packaging. He said Samsung aims to fully leverage its integrated structure to respond to surging AI demand while deepening engagement with key customers. The Device Experience (DX) division, which covers smartphones, TVs and home appliances, faces a more mixed outlook. Global smartphone shipments are forecast to grow 2–3 percent in 2026, but competition in AI-enabled premium devices is intensifying. Samsung’s Galaxy S26 launch and the broader industry shift toward on-device AI are expected to play a key role in shaping performance. Roh Tae-moon, head of the DX division, said the unit will push “AI transformation” across products and internal operations, stressing the need for tighter execution and faster decision-making amid volatile consumer demand. Looking ahead, analysts expect Samsung Electronics’ operating profit to climb to around 85.4 trillion won in 2026, with some bullish forecasts exceeding 100 trillion won, assuming stable memory pricing and sustained investment in AI servers. Foundry revenue is projected to grow more modestly as Samsung ramps up its 2-nanometer-class gate-all-around (GAA) processes, though competition with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. remains a key challenge. In consumer electronics, demand remains subdued. Research firm Omdia forecasts global TV shipments will rise by about 1 percent in 2026, supported in part by replacement demand tied to major sporting events, including the North and Central America World Cup. In its New Year messages, Samsung also underscored the importance of compliance, safety and supply-chain stability, saying the company must reinforce execution capabilities amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty and the rising capital intensity of AI infrastructure. 2026-01-02 17:54:23

South Korea welcomes first babies of 2026 amid signs of fragile fertility recovery SEOUL, January 01 (AJP) - South Korea marked the start of the Year of the Red Horse with the birth of its first newborns at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, 2026, as two baby girls were delivered simultaneously at a maternity hospital in Seoul. According to CHA University Gangnam Medical Center, the two girls were born at exactly 12:00 a.m. to mothers aged 37, both in stable condition. One baby, weighing 2.88 kilograms, was delivered by cesarean section, while the other, weighing 3.42 kilograms, was born naturally. Both newborns and their mothers were reported to be healthy. One of the babies, nicknamed “Jjaem,” is the first child of a couple married for four years. Her father, Yoon Sung-min, 38, said he felt especially joyful that his daughter arrived at the very beginning of the new year. “I hope she grows up happy and enjoys life, just like her nickname suggests,” he said with a smile. The other newborn, nicknamed “Dori,” is the second child of her parents. Her father, Jung Dong-gyu, 36, said he had expected a late-December birth but was grateful that both mother and child held on until the new year. “It feels meaningful that she became one of the first babies of 2026,” he said, adding that he hopes more children will be born around her so she can grow up with many friends. Separately, another baby girl was born under dramatic circumstances later that day aboard a fire-service helicopter in the skies over Jeju Island. According to the Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters, emergency services received a request at 11:30 a.m. from an obstetrics clinic in Jeju City to transport a woman in her 30s who was experiencing premature rupture of membranes at 30 weeks of pregnancy. A rescue helicopter was dispatched, but during the flight to a mainland hospital, the woman went into labor and delivered the baby at 1:17 p.m. Both the mother and newborn were reported to be in stable condition. Officials described the airborne delivery as a rare case, made possible by the swift response of emergency personnel. The symbolic New Year births come as South Korea shows tentative signs of a rebound in childbirth after years of record-low fertility. The country’s total fertility rate — the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime — stood at about 0.80 for the January–October period last year. If the trend holds through year-end, it would mark the first return to the 0.8 range in four years. Korea’s fertility rate fell to 0.81 in 2021, dropped further to 0.78 in 2022 and hit a record low of 0.72 in 2023, before edging up to 0.75 in 2024 — the first rebound in nine years. Government and research projections suggest the recent uptick may continue. The National Assembly Budget Office estimates the fertility rate at 0.80 last year and 0.90 this year, with a gradual rise to 0.92 by 2045. It attributes the improvement to a rebound in marriages delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in the population of women in their 30s, and gradually improving perceptions toward marriage and childbirth. Official population projections also point to a recovery trend. Under the medium scenario, the fertility rate is expected to bottom out at 0.65 before rising to 0.68 this year, 0.71 in 2027 and 0.75 in 2028. A more optimistic scenario sees the figure climbing from 0.75 to 0.80 this year and 0.84 by 2027. Public attitudes appear to be shifting as well. A survey by the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy showed that the share of people expressing willingness to marry rose from 61.0 percent in March 2024 to 65.2 percent a year later. The proportion saying they believe children are necessary increased from 61.1 percent to 70.9 percent over the same period. Still, the country's fertility rate remains well below the OECD average of 1.43 in 2023 and far under the replacement level of 2.1 needed to sustain the population. 2026-01-01 17:22:26

Samsung Display rolls out 360Hz QD-OLED with new pixel structure as high-end monitor competition intensifies SEOUL, January 01 (AJP) - Samsung Display has begun mass supply of a 34-inch QD-OLED monitor panel featuring a newly designed “V-Stripe” pixel structure, as panel makers race to differentiate performance in the premium gaming and productivity market. The company said it started shipping the panels in December to seven global manufacturers, including ASUS, MSI and Gigabyte. The model supports a 21:9 ultra-wide aspect ratio, a 360Hz refresh rate and peak brightness of 1,300 nits. The V-Stripe layout arranges red, green and blue sub-pixels vertically rather than in the conventional triangular configuration used in existing QD-OLED panels. Samsung Display says the redesign improves edge clarity for text, addressing demand from users involved in coding, document editing and content creation. High-refresh-rate performance on ultra-wide displays typically poses challenges due to increased pixel counts, heat generation and the need for uniform signal timing across the panel. The company said it improved material efficiency and panel design to mitigate luminance loss and thermal load during high-speed operation. The new panel will appear in several monitor models to be unveiled at CES 2026 in Las Vegas. Samsung Display will also showcase the technology at a private booth at the Encore at Wynn hotel during the event. According to market researcher Omdia, products using self-emissive displays such as OLED are expected to account for 27 percent of premium monitors priced above $500 in 2026, up from 14 percent in 2024, reflecting a continued shift away from LCD. Samsung Display is projected to hold more than 75 percent of the OLED monitor panel market next year, with estimated shipments of 2.5 million units. 2026-01-01 15:47:31