Samsung Electronics and SK hynix set record quarterly results on the back of growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) memory, but many corporations that supply materials, parts, and equipment saw only limited improvement, with criticism that the boom's warmth is not reaching them. Depending on differences in price bargaining power and technological entry barriers, profits are concentrating in large corporations and a handful of high-value equipment makers, making the so-called "K-shaped polarization" more pronounced.
◇ 'Record-breaking' results at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix… gap between large and small corporations confirmed in data
In the second quarter this year, Samsung Electronics' DS (semiconductor) institutional sector posted an operating margin of 70% and operating profit of 8.92 trillion won. SK hynix also logged an operating margin of 76% and operating profit of 6.05426 trillion won, with both companies setting all-time quarterly records. Expanded sales of high-value products such as high bandwidth memory (HBM) and server DRAM drove the results.
However, assessments say the boom is concentrated in large corporations that make finished goods in memory. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) and the Korea Customs Service's "second-quarter 2026 trade statistics by corporate characteristics (preliminary)" released on the 20th, exports by large corporations surged 81.8% from a year earlier, while exports by small and midsize companies rose only 13.1%. The growth rate gap between the two groups reached 68.7 percentage points (P).
The trade concentration of the top 10 exporting corporations was 55.3%, up 17.0 percentage points from a year earlier, hitting the highest level since then in the history of the statistics. As export concentration in a few large corporations deepens, analysts say the K-shaped polarization observed in the semiconductor supply chain tracks with this broader industrial trend.
◇ Average profit margin for materials, parts, and equipment at 11%… TC bonder sees exceptional boom
The average operating margin in the first quarter this year for 83 domestic semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment corporations with a market cap of at least 500 billion won stood at 11.2%. Compared with the roughly 70% operating margins at Samsung Electronics' DS institutional sector and SK hynix, the gap exceeds 60 percentage points. Of the 83, thirty-eight posted operating margins below 10%, and 13 recorded losses even amid the semiconductor boom phase.
Despite securing a backlog in the 400 billion won range, equipment maker Wonik IPS posted second-quarter sales of 216.5 billion won and operating profit of 18.4 billion won this year. Those figures fell 10.6% and 49.6%, respectively, from a year earlier. Even considering the time lag between orders and revenue inherent to the equipment business, the expansion in orders did not translate into tangible profitability gains. Jusung Engineering also saw second-quarter sales of 59.8 billion won and operating profit of 1.4 billion won, down 24.0% and 78.4%, respectively, from a year earlier. Although it swung to profit from an operating loss in the previous quarter, delays in customer investment schedules and higher research and development expenses are cited as reasons for the weak performance.
A source at a semiconductor materials company said, "For materials and consumables such as cleaning solutions, photoresist (PR), and quartz, deliveries are largely unit-based, so results hinge heavily on unit price bargaining with customers," and noted, "The higher the substitutability or dependence on a particular customer, the more companies get tied to long-term supply contracts and existing delivery prices, making it hard to reflect cost increases in a timely manner." While memory manufacturers have room to adjust prices through negotiations with global customers, materials, parts, and equipment partners face structural limits where cost pass-through is delayed by constraints in contract prices and price-adjustment clauses.
In contrast, HANMI Semiconductor, which supplies the thermal compression bonder (TC bonder), a key tool in HBM processing, posted second-quarter sales of 251.1 billion won and operating profit of 130.3 billion won this year, up 39.5% and 51% from a year earlier, respectively, setting its biggest quarterly results. Its operating margin was 51.9%, far above the industry average for materials, parts, and equipment. Analysts say corporations that own equipment closely tied to customers' process transitions and hard to substitute hold the upper hand in negotiations, and the gap between a select group of equipment corporations with irreplaceable technology and the many materials, parts, and equipment corporations is repeating in a K-shaped polarization pattern.