Samsung and SK Hynix’s financial reports face off on the same day, both sprinting toward their best performances ever as the battle over HBM4 fully escalates.

Samsung and SK Hynix’s financial reports face off on the same day, both sprinting toward their best performances ever as the battle over HBM4 fully escalates.

As the global storage chip market experiences a price surge due to tight supply and strong demand, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are set to release their Q4 2025 financial reports on January 29, the same day. This marks the first time the two giants will announce results simultaneously, signaling a key stage in the cyclical recovery of the memory industry. Moreover, fierce competition in profit performance, future capital expenditure, and next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) technology between the two has garnered keen investor attention.

The latest earnings preview shows that Samsung Electronics is expected to deliver a historic quarterly performance, with Q4 revenue projected to surpass KRW 90 trillion and operating profit soaring 208% year-on-year, potentially making it the first Korean company ever to achieve over KRW 20 trillion in single-quarter operating profit. This robust result is mainly driven by a sharp rebound in its memory semiconductor business, which has significantly narrowed the profit gap with SK Hynix and may allow Samsung to overtake its rival in subsequent quarters. Meanwhile, although SK Hynix is constrained by its focus on HBM and therefore benefits less from the recent surge in traditional DRAM prices, its quarterly operating profit is still expected to reach at least KRW 18 trillion.

Another major highlight of this earnings release is the two companies' outlook for the 2026 performance peak and capital expenditure plans. With memory supply tightness expected to continue until 2027, analysts generally forecast that both giants will join the “KRW 100 trillion operating profit club” in 2026. In addition, competition over next-generation HBM4 chip supply will also be a focal point, especially since both Samsung and SK Hynix have delivered paid final samples to Nvidia, directly affecting future share of high-profit markets.

Investors are closely watching the signals during the earnings calls about capacity expansion and technology roadmaps.There is widespread expectation that Samsung will significantly increase storage investments to boost HBM output and advance the construction of its Taylor plant in Texas, while SK Hynix’s capital expenditure is projected to exceed KRW 30 trillion in 2026, focusing on the M15X fab and Yongin semiconductor cluster.

Profit Gap Narrows Significantly

With commodity DRAM prices rebounding from the second half of 2025 and mainstream DRAM shipments increasing, Samsung Electronics’ memory division’s profitability is rapidly recovering. According to ZDNet’s cited forecasts, Samsung Electronics’ memory business operating profit is expected to reach the high range of KRW 17 trillion. If the overall earnings forecast holds true, Samsung will not only achieve 22.7% year-on-year revenue growth but could also become the first Korean company in history to hit KRW 20 trillion (approximately $13.82 billion USD) operating profit in a single quarter.

By contrast, although SK Hynix’s operating profit was initially expected to be between KRW 16-17 trillion, ZDNet cites industry sources upgrading its Q4 profit to at least KRW 18 trillion. However, analysts point out that due to SK Hynix’s stronger focus on HBM, its gains from the recent surge in traditional DRAM prices are somewhat limited.

The market broadly anticipates this catching-up trend will reverse in Q1 2026. According to ZDNet,as commodity DRAM prices are expected to surge again, Samsung's memory division operating profit is poised to surpass SK Hynix in that quarter. TrendForce data shows that mainstream DRAM average selling price is forecast to jump 55%-60% quarter-over-quarter in Q1 2026.

2026 May See Performance Peak

With memory supply tightness expected to last through 2027, the two Korean memory giants are gearing up to hit a performance peak in 2026. According to media reports,analysts predict SK Hynix’s 2026 sales will exceed KRW 165 trillion, with operating profit breaking KRW 100 trillion. At the same time, investment bank reports from Macquarie and KB Securities indicateSamsung Electronics’ 2026 operating profit could reach about KRW 150 trillion, meaning both companies will firmly enter the “KRW 100 trillion operating profit club.”

To support this growth expectation, massive capital expenditure plans are already brewing. Although official detailed plans have not been released, The Bell previously reported SK Hynix’s capex reached the high KRW 10 trillion mark in 2024, increased to the mid-KRW 20 trillion range in 2025, and is expected to exceed KRW 30 trillion in 2026. Media say the company has invested billions of KRW in the Cheongju M15X fab and Yongin cluster project.

Samsung also plans aggressive expansion. Media report Samsung intends to sharply increase investment in memory in 2026, building on the KRW 40.9 trillion DS division spend in 2025. Key priorities include increasing HBM output, expanding the Pyeongtaek DS campus, and advancing construction of the Taylor, Texas wafer plant.

HBM4 Technology Race Heats Up

Beyond the financials, competition between the two giants over HBM4 domain is intensifying. TrendForce notes that Nvidia revised its Rubin platform HBM4 specs in Q3 2025, raising the single-pin speed requirement to over 11 Gbps, forcing all three major HBM suppliers to modify their designs.

According to SeDaily, Samsung and SK Hynix began delivering paid final HBM4 samples to Nvidia by the end of 2025. The industry expects that specific supply volume and pricing will be locked in during Q1 2026, with TrendForce adding that the final outcome will become clear after contracts are formally completed in mid-to-late quarter.

In this technology race, Samsung is attempting to challenge SK Hynix by manufacturing HBM4 with a 1Cnm process and using advanced internal foundry technology for base dies, aiming to deliver higher transmission speeds. Nevertheless, TrendForce indicates SK Hynix has already secured related contracts and is expected to maintain dominance in the overall HBM supply share in 2026.

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