Direct:
Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) booked KRW 89.2 trillion in Device Solutions operating profit on KRW 127.5 trillion of revenue, and in the same release its MX and Networks segment reported an operating loss of KRW 0.7 trillion on KRW 33.2 trillion. Revenue there grew year over year on Galaxy S26 and A series volume. Earnings still went negative. Samsung attributes that to “elevated component cost pressures across the industry” without naming DRAM or NAND, but the parallel reporting puts RAM at roughly 23% of the bill of materials on an $800 handset, up from 14%, with NAND adding as much as 15% on top.
MX and Networks report as one segment, so this is not a disclosed phone-only number, and Samsung does not publish internal transfer pricing. What holds anyway is that a company sitting on its own DRAM and NAND supply put its device business in the red during the same quarter its memory business set records. Buyers without captive supply are in worse shape than that.
DS margin lands near 70%, under SK hynix (000660.KS) at 76.3% on KRW 79.3 trillion of revenue and KRW 60.5 trillion of operating profit. Foundry and System LSI are the likely dilution. Samsung's phrasing on foundry deserves attention, since earnings there improved “prior to incentive-related provisions,” which does not mean profitable. The double-digit second-half growth target rests on HBM base dies, second-generation 2nm mobile, and 4nm LPU work.
On product timing, Samsung shipped the industry's first HBM4E samples this quarter while SK hynix moved HBM4 into mass shipment. Different generations, and sampling is not volume.
The guidance is the part that matters for storage buyers. Samsung expects server DRAM, eSSD and HBM demand growth to accelerate, the market to stay undersupplied, and supply constraints to continue despite added production, with “partial demand moderation in mobile and PCs.” TrendForce has 3Q26 NAND contract prices up 10% to 15% sequentially and server DRAM up 13% to 18%, with consumer buyers already at their affordability ceiling. Samsung also plans to “optimize its portfolio in consideration of changes in demand by application.” Client SSD and UFS lines are what gets reweighted when enterprise SSD pays better, and qualification cycles mean that reweighting takes quarters to walk back.
Drafted with AI assistance against parallel reporting.
Sources:
- Samsung Newsroom, July 30, 2026 (Q2 2026 results press release, division revenue and operating profit, H2 outlook)
- DigiTimes, July 30, 2026 (Samsung 2Q26 memory sales and foundry second-half growth target, paywalled stub)
- SK hynix Newsroom, July 29, 2026 (2Q26 financial results, operating margin, HBM4 mass shipment)
- TrendForce, July 3, 2026 (3Q26 NAND and DRAM contract price forecast, consumer affordability ceiling)
- TrendForce, July 9, 2026 (server DRAM contract prices up 13% to 18% QoQ in 3Q26, LTA price caps)
- TrendForce, July 27, 2026 (Q2 memory earnings preview, Samsung and SK hynix margin expectations)
- SamMobile and Sammy Fans, July 2026 (MX component cost pressure, memory share of handset bill of materials)
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