Samsung’s Q2 Profit May Tumble 56% as HBM Chip Fails to Secure Nvidia Certification

TradingKey - Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that second-quarter operating profit likely tumbled 56% to 4.6 trillion won ($3.3 billion), sharply exceeding analysts’ projected 41% drop and marking the company’s first profit decline since 2023. The slump was driven by U.S. export controls on chip sales to China and delays in Samsung’s plans to supply high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to Nvidia.

Although Samsung is one of the world's largest memory chipmakers, it has fallen behind in the rapidly advancing HBM market. Its state-of-the-art 12-layer HBM3E chip has yet to receive certification from Nvidia, while rivals SK Hynix and Micron Technology have already secured key deals and expanded market share.

SK Hynix earlier became the first chipmaker to ship 12-layer HBM4 samples to customers, with Micron following shortly after. Samsung, by contrast, has faced setbacks stemming from design adjustments that have delayed the certification process. As a result, SK Hynix has emerged as Nvidia’s primary HBM supplier, while Samsung’s chips remain uncertified.

According to South Korean media reports, Nvidia’s certification of Samsung’s HBM3E chip has been postponed until at least September, leaving the company at a disadvantage during a crucial phase of industry adoption.

“Given that Nvidia accounts for roughly 70% of global HBM demand, the delay meaningfully caps near-term upside,” said Ray Wang, research director at Futurum Group.

In its earnings guidance, Samsung confirmed that it will co-supply HBM chips to Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) alongside Micron. The company also expects operating losses at its chip foundry division to narrow in the second half of the year as demand begins to recover.

Still, some analysts remain skeptical about Samsung’s competitiveness in the HBM space. Bernstein recently cut its forecast for the company’s HBM market share, noting that certification for the 12-layer HBM3E chip has been pushed from the second quarter to the third.

Samsung has also undergone internal restructuring. Reuters reported last September that a semiconductor unit of the company cut 30% of its staff.

Following the earnings alert, Samsung shares dropped as much as 1.13% in early Tuesday trading before closing down 0.49% at 61,400 won.

Adding to external pressures, former U.S. President Donald Trump notified trade partners on July 7 that a new round of tariffs will take effect August 1. Korean exports will be subject to a 25% duty — a move that could deal another blow to Samsung’s global competitiveness.