With demand for artificial intelligence (AI) behind them, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix both posted record results, and at earnings events unusually held on the same day, they engaged in a subtle war of nerves over the next-generation high bandwidth memory (HBM) business. SK hynix, which holds the No. 1 position in the HBM market, expressed confidence in its competitive edge as rival Samsung Electronics joins the race, while Samsung Electronics stressed the performance and quality advantages of its HBM4 products, the biggest battleground in AI memory this year.
On the 29th, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix held their 2025 fourth-quarter earnings conference calls one hour apart. It is highly unusual for the two companies to hold earnings events on the same day. Attention focused on the industry as the two have been competing to supply HBM4 to Nvidia, the industry's biggest "big spender," and Samsung Electronics is said to be increasing HBM supply to major U.S. customers such as Broadcom.
SK hynix opened fire first. Holding its earnings event an hour ahead of Samsung Electronics, SK hynix said of Samsung Electronics' full-fledged entry into the HBM market, "Beyond simply leading in technology, the mass-production experience and customer trust we have accumulated are difficult to catch up with in a short period." It added, "HBM is a product that requires not only technology but also mass-producibility, quality, and supply execution capability at the same time."
Earlier, the industry observed that Samsung Electronics, which had yielded HBM leadership to SK hynix for the past several years, has recently been increasing HBM supply to major U.S. customers including Nvidia and Broadcom, and could begin supplying next-generation HBM, HBM4, as early as next month. Samsung Electronics' HBM4 is also said to have fully addressed the previously feared performance and quality issues by exceeding customers' target performance.
Seemingly aware of this, SK hynix emphasized, "HBM4 is also being prepared as scheduled in line with timelines agreed with customers, and we are already in mass production for the volumes requested by customers," adding, "Even with our existing 10-nanometer fifth-generation (1b) process-based products, we meet customers' required performance, and our packaging technology competitiveness will serve as a strength in HBM4 as well."
Samsung Electronics hit back strongly. In the conference call, Samsung Electronics revealed a specific timeline, saying, "We are proceeding with HBM4 mass production at customers' request and plan to begin shipments in February." It added, "Even though customers' required performance levels have been raised from the initial development stage to now, we have proceeded without any redesign."
In the industry, Samsung Electronics' decision to bring up the "redesign" issue is being interpreted as a remark made with SK hynix in mind, directly or indirectly. SK hynix is known to have received feedback from its largest customer, Nvidia, on HBM4 sample products and to have modified some processes during product development and mass production. Samsung Electronics was emphasizing that it passed the tightened HBM4 specifications without issues.
Meanwhile, both companies expect HBM market demand to remain solid this year. The view is that the AI memory boom will continue through the year. SK hynix said, "Currently, memory demand is surging due to expanded investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, but the industry's supply capacity is not keeping pace, causing a severe supply-demand imbalance," adding, "Most customers are struggling to secure memory volumes and are continuously requesting supply expansion."
Samsung Electronics also assessed that an AI-centric structural shift is accelerating across the memory market, explaining, "While memory demand is rapidly increasing due to the expansion of AI applications, the industry-wide capacity to expand supply is limited." It added, "Across HBM, DRAM, and NAND, supply shortages relative to demand are continuing."