Samsung Delays US Wafer Plant Production to 2026

According to South Korean media Business Korea, Samsung Electronics has adjusted its mass production timeline for its wafer facility in Taylor, Texas, shifting the expected start date from late 2024 to 2026. This change may be due to a deceleration in the growth of the wafer foundry market.

TSMC CEO C.C. Wei, during the company's Q1 earnings call, reported a downward revision in the global semiconductor market growth forecast (excluding memory chips) to approximately 10% for 2023. The growth estimate for the global wafer foundry market was adjusted from 20% to a range of 14-19%.

ASML's Q1 financial results revealed net sales of €3.966 billion, down from €5.683 billion in Q4 2023. New orders for the quarter totaled €3.6 billion, including €656 million for EUV equipment, lower than €3.8 billion in Q1 2023 and significantly less than €9.2 billion in Q4 2023.

TSMC's first fab in Kumamoto, Japan, began operations in February this year, with a second fab expected to be operational by 2027. TSMC's investment in Arizona, USA, now totals $65 billion, with plans to begin production at its 4nm and 3nm wafer fabs in 2025 and 2028, respectively, and an anticipated annual capacity exceeding 600,000 wafers. Additionally, TSMC recently announced its third US wafer fab, expected to produce 2nm wafers by 2023.

Intel also has plans to establish two new logic wafer fabs in Arizona and Ohio, as well as new facilities across Europe and Israel.

Samsung announced plans to increase its investment in Texas from $17 billion to over $40 billion in the coming years. This investment aims to transform Samsung's existing Texas operations into a comprehensive ecosystem for the development and production of advanced chips in the US. This includes two new leading logic wafer fabs, a research and development facility, and an advanced packaging facility in Taylor, Texas, as well as an expansion of its existing Austin facility.

Despite the potential slowdown in the wafer foundry market, the memory chip market remains relatively strong. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are anticipated to experience improved profitability compared to last year. Financial institutions predict SK Hynix's Q1 revenue to reach KRW 12.1 trillion, with operating profits of KRW 1.77 trillion. For 2024, the company's annual operating profit is expected to surpass KRW 21 trillion. Samsung Electronics' DS division is expected to improve, with Q1 operating profit estimated between KRW 700 billion and KRW 1.8 trillion. The company's overall operating profit for 2024 is projected to be around KRW 35 trillion.