Semicon Briefing

Samsung's chip division achieved annual profit of ~$196 bn in 2026, more than in the entire preceding 40 years combined, and displaced Nvidia as the world's most profitable company. DRAM margins increased from ~10% (2024) to over 80% – a warning signal for a possible memory market bubble and drastically rising end-customer prices.

According to WSJ, Apple will in future have not only Mac chips but also iPhone SoCs manufactured by Intel – a historic step that fundamentally upgrades Intel's foundry business and directly challenges TSMC's monopoly position in Apple chips. Polymarket sees Intel's Q2 foundry revenue with 66% probability above $6 bn, data center & AI revenue even at 92% probability above $5 bn.

New analyses confirm that TSMC's 2nm process leadership continues to expand, while Intel's 14A node has been pushed beyond 2030 – despite the Apple partnership, Intel remains technologically outpaced at the critical advanced node level. Samsung fills capacity gaps with 4nm for HBM4 demand, cementing the three-way split in the global foundry landscape.

TSMC and Applied Materials have announced a collaboration at the newly announced $5 bn EPIC Center, focused on improving AI chip production. The partnership underscores the trend toward vertical integration of equipment expertise directly into foundry processes – and substantially strengthens TSMC's technology moat versus Samsung and Intel.

Samsung's record quarterly results paradoxically triggered a sharp selloff: Intel and Applied Materials each lost ~10%, AMD ~8%, as investors took profits amid stretched valuations. The decline shows the extreme fragility of the current AI capex cycle – good numbers are no longer sufficient when market expectations are already priced in.

Infineon is publicly calling for a second TSMC fab in Dresden (12–16nm and 22–28nm), while Harvard's Belfer Center assesses the new EU Tech Sovereignty Package with Chips Act 2.0 as a strategic paradigm shift from pure subsidy policy toward demand steering in advanced chips. This marks a new escalation step in Europe's semiconductor independence strategy.