---
title: "Samsung raises contract chip manufacturing prices by 10–15%: the South Korean giant monetizes the global capacity shortage"
description: "In August 2026, Samsung raised prices for contract production of 4-nm and 5-nm chips by 10–15%, monetizing the global capacity shortage. Against the backdrop of full utilization of lines in Pyeongtaek and new customers, the company's foundry business may turn profitable as early as 2027."
date: 2026-08-19T23:46:38.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/samsung-raises-contract-chip-manufacturing-prices-by-15
tags: [samsung, tsmc, foundry, semiconductors, chip-pricing, hbm, ai-chips]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Samsung raises contract chip manufacturing prices by 10–15%: the South Korean giant monetizes the global capacity shortage

![Samsung contract chip manufacturing line: rows of cleanroom equipment and conveyor systems in the fab where the South Korean giant raised prices by 10-15%](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/20/samsung-povyshila-ceny-na-kontraktnoe-proizvodstvo-chipov-na-15/samsung-povyshila-ceny-na-kontraktnoe-proizvodstvo-chipov-na-15-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Samsung raised prices for producing 4-nm and 5-nm chips by 10–15% for customers from the US and China, and by 5–10% for Taiwanese customers.
- Samsung's share of the global foundry market is about 7% versus TSMC's 70%, but the capacity shortage allows the South Korean firm to grow its margin.
- The 4-nm lines in Pyeongtaek are fully utilized; to customers Apple and Tesla, Broadcom and Nvidia were added in 2026.
- Experts expect Samsung's contract business to turn profitable in 2027.

Samsung Electronics, the largest South Korean semiconductor manufacturer, once again revised its foundry (contract manufacturing) service prices upward in August 2026. According to Reuters, citing informed sources, the cost of producing 4-nm chips for American customers rose by 10–15% on a sequential basis compared to the previous month. This is not the first price increase in the current cycle: the company has been steadily raising its price list against the backdrop of a global shortage of advanced contract capacity, which allows even Samsung — "perpetually lagging" behind TSMC — to earn significantly more from its customers than before.

### Price differentiation by customer and process node

Notably, Samsung has established clear price differentiation depending on the customer's geography and the maturity of the process node. For customers from the US and China, services for producing 4-nm chips became 10–15% more expensive, while for customers from Taiwan, where Samsung faces its main competition from local TSMC, the increase was only 5–10%. Similar 10–15% increases were recorded for the 5-nm process, while the more mature 8-nm process rose moderately — by 10%. According to sources, in its home South Korea there is an influx of Chinese customers willing to pay "literally any amount" for advanced process nodes, yet Samsung is forced to turn many of them down, prioritizing American developers and reserving part of its capacity for its own needs.

### Competition with TSMC and market shares

Despite the price increase, Samsung's structural lag behind the Taiwanese leader persists. As of the first quarter of 2026, Samsung's contract division controlled about 7% of the global foundry market in dollar terms, while TSMC accounted for around 70%. In the advanced lithography segment, the gap is even wider: TSMC already offers customers a 2-nm process, whereas Samsung's flagship on the market remain the 4-nm and 5-nm nodes. Nevertheless, it is precisely the capacity shortage and customers' willingness to overpay that create a window of opportunity for Samsung that did not exist in previous years.

### Strategy, new customers, and line utilization

By the end of 2026, Samsung expects to bring the share of revenue from chip production using advanced process nodes to 50% of total revenue, while the high-performance computing and AI (HPC/AI) segment is expected to generate up to 30% of the company's revenue — compared to roughly 20% at the end of last year. The 4-nm chip production lines in South Korea's Pyeongtaek have been running at full capacity since the end of last year: here both Qualcomm's 4-nm chips and the base dies for next-generation HBM memory stacks are produced, which Samsung sells independently. Among the major customers since last year are Apple and Tesla, and in 2026 they were joined by Broadcom and Nvidia; reportedly, Google intends to order the production of its own chips using the 4-nm technology. For the current half-year, the company expects double-digit revenue growth in the contract segment compared to the same period last year.

### Contradictory data

There is a minor inconsistency in the presentation of figures across media formulations and primary sources. The headlines of several outlets (including 3DNews and delo.ua) use the upper bound — "prices rose by 15%," while materials citing Reuters indicate a range of 10–15% for the 4-nm and 5-nm processes and 10% for the 8-nm. In other words, the point figure of "15%" in the headlines is an upward rounding of the actual range, not a separate fact. Moreover, information about a possible Google order is of a rumor nature and has not been confirmed by the company itself, which distinguishes it from the already executed contracts with Apple, Tesla, Broadcom, and Nvidia.

### Forecasts: contract business turning profitable

Experts forecast that, given the global shortage of contract capacity and the steady price increases, Samsung's foundry business could turn profitable as early as next year, 2027. This would be an important signal for the market: the South Korean manufacturer, which has invested in advanced process nodes for years without a return on investment, is finally beginning to monetize its capacity against the backdrop of TSMC — the alternative — remaining overloaded and expensive. Thus, the current market conditions turn Samsung's "chaser" status into a source of sustainable margin.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Samsung will profit from the chip shortage — it raised contract manufacturing prices by 15% window-new](https://3dnews.ru/1147084/samsung-zarabotaet-na-defitsite-chipov-tseni-na-kontraktnoe-proizvodstvo-virosli-na-15-) - Первичный источник: диапазон 10–15% на 4/5-нм, 10% на 8-нм, 5–10% для Тайваня; доли рынка 7% vs 70%; клиенты Apple, Tesla, Broadcom, Nvidia; слухи о Google; прогноз прибыли в следующем году.
- [Samsung raised chip production prices by up to 15%](https://delo.ua/ru/news/samsung-povysila-ceny-na-proizvodstvo-cipov-do-15-471056/) - Подтверждает факт повышения цен до 15% (верхняя граница диапазона), согласуется с версией Reuters.
- [Samsung to invest an order of magnitude less in contract chip manufacturing than TSMC](https://3dnews.ru/1117093/samsung-v-dva-raza-sokratit-zatrati-na-kontraktnoe-podrazdelenie-po-vipusku-chipov) - Первичный источник: диапазон 10–15% на 4/5-нм, 10% на 8-нм, 5–10% для Тайваня; доли рынка 7% vs 70%; клиенты Apple, Tesla, Broadcom, Nvidia; слухи о Google; прогноз прибыли в следующем году.
- [Samsung expects to attract new major customers for contract manufacturing next year ...](https://overclockers.ru/hardnews/show/106383/samsung-v-sledujuschem-godu-rasschityvaet-privlech-novyh-krupnyh-klientov-na-kontraktnoe-proizvodstvo-chipov) - Подтверждает стратегию привлечения крупных клиентов и ожидания по foundry-бизнесу.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: By how much did Samsung raise prices for contract chip manufacturing?
**A:** By 10–15% for the 4-nm and 5-nm processes (for customers from the US and China), by 5–10% for Taiwanese customers, and by 10% for the 8-nm process.

### Q: Why does Samsung turn down some Chinese customers?
**A:** The company prioritizes American developers and reserves part of its capacity for its own needs, despite Chinese customers' willingness to pay any amount.

### Q: What is Samsung's share of the global foundry market?
**A:** As of the first quarter of 2026 — about 7% in dollar terms, while TSMC accounted for around 70%.

### Q: When could Samsung's contract business turn profitable?
**A:** According to expert forecasts, as early as next year, 2027, thanks to the capacity shortage and price increases.

### Q: Who became a new major customer of Samsung in 2026?
**A:** To the existing Apple and Tesla, Broadcom and Nvidia were added in 2026; reportedly, Google may also place an order using the 4-nm technology.