With Exynos, produced by the Samsung Electronics foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) division, set to be installed in the Samsung Electronics Mobile eXperience (MX) division's new Galaxy S26 series smartphones, expectations are rising that the earnings of corporations supplying materials and test solutions needed for advanced foundry processes will improve. The Exynos application processor (AP), which serves as the brain of smartphones, had been left out due to the Samsung Electronics foundry division's poor Production yield, dragging down the manufacturing ecosystem as well. But starting this year, beneficiaries are expected to emerge.
According to the industry on the 20th, analysts say that the earnings of Hansol Chemical and Wonik Materials, which supply semiconductor materials used in Samsung Electronics' advanced foundry processes, and DOOSAN TESNA, which provides test solutions to detect defects after Exynos is manufactured, will enter a growth phase. These corporations have consistently reported sluggish results since 2023, when Samsung, due to Exynos' underperformance, began installing Qualcomm APs across the board.
Materials corporations' earnings hinge on the utilization rate of Samsung's advanced foundry processes, because input volumes are determined by utilization. The utilization rate of Samsung's advanced foundry processes is structurally tied to the success or failure of the Exynos business, which accounts for the largest share of production volume. DOOSAN TESNA derives a significant portion of its sales from Exynos testing services and is therefore heavily affected by the Exynos business.
Earnings for semiconductor materials corporations supplying Samsung's advanced foundry processes and for corporations testing finished Exynos chips have been weak. However, with the Exynos 2600 series set to be rapidly adopted in this year's Galaxy models and advanced process competitiveness recovering, a larger volume is expected to be supplied for next-generation products.
Among domestic semiconductor materials corporations, Hansol Chemical and Wonik Materials supply materials used in Samsung's advanced foundry processes. Hansol Chemical supplies precursors needed for thin-film processes that form a thin layer on the wafer surface to realize the electrical characteristics of semiconductor devices, as well as hydrogen peroxide used in semiconductor cleaning and etching processes. Wonik Materials is also delivering domestically produced specialty gases used in semiconductor thin-film and etching processes.
According to financial information firm FnGuide, Hansol Chemical's operating profit this year is forecast at 208.8 billion won, and Wonik Materials at 67.8 billion won. This is expected to be a significant improvement compared with securities industry estimates that last year's operating profits would be about 160 billion won and 55 billion won, respectively.
DOOSAN TESNA provides test solutions to the Samsung Electronics foundry division. DOOSAN TESNA tests products to check for defects during the wafer manufacturing process and for issues after they are packaged into finished goods. Affected by the slump in the Exynos business last year, DOOSAN TESNA posted an operating loss of 9.4 billion won. DOOSAN TESNA's operating profit this year is also forecast at 57.7 billion won.
Park Yu-ak, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "Driven by the expanding share (rising sales) of Exynos 2700, in addition to Exynos 2600 used in the Galaxy S26, Samsung Electronics' advanced process utilization is expected to enter an upward trend," and added, "The Samsung Electronics foundry division's supply chain is also expected to enter earnings growth."