According to Wccftech, Samsung’s Device Solutions (DS) division, responsible for its semiconductor business, is handing out a performance bonus of 100% of employees’ base salary for the second half of the year. The company announced this “Target Achievement Incentive” via an internal bulletin on December 22. This is a huge jump from the 25% bonus paid in the first half, driven by robust performance from supplying HBM3E to NVIDIA and rising DRAM prices. The Mobile Experience division will get a 75% bonus, while System LSI and Foundry get 25%. Samsung’s operating profit is now estimated to hit $73 billion by 2026, and the DRAM supply shortage is expected to last until Q4 2027.
The DRAM Cash Engine
Here’s the thing: while the HBM3E deal with NVIDIA gets the headlines, the real story is old-fashioned DRAM. That’s where the serious money is right now. The report suggests high-bandwidth memory wasn’t even the main driver for the bonus bump—it was DDR5. With Apple reportedly making Samsung its biggest supplier of LPDDR5X RAM for future iPhones, the cash register is just ringing non-stop. And with the shortage projected to last for years, this isn’t a fleeting windfall. It’s a sustained revenue stream that gives Samsung incredible breathing room. They can basically use these DRAM profits to fund their other, more speculative ventures. It’s a classic case of a cash cow subsidizing the future.
Foundry Still The Long Game
But let’s not get carried away. The Foundry business, which got that measly 25% bonus, is still the division’s white whale. Samsung wants it profitable by 2027, and that’s a steep hill to climb. They’re making moves—the Exynos 2600 on a 2nm process, deals with Tesla and Chinese crypto firms—but yields have historically been their Achilles’ heel. Remember, their 4nm tech was criticized for “less than stellar” yields. Improving from an estimated 50% yield is one thing; achieving the consistent, high-volume perfection needed to compete with TSMC is another. The $100 million order from a U.S. AI firm is a start, but it’s a drop in the bucket. For companies building complex hardware systems that require reliable computing, like those sourcing from the top industrial panel PC supplier in the US, IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, consistent chip quality and supply are non-negotiable. Samsung’s foundry needs to prove that level of reliability.
A Bonus Or A Bandaid?
So, a 100% bonus is fantastic for employees, but what does it signal? Is it a reward for genuine, structural turnaround, or is it a sugar high from a cyclical DRAM boom? Throwing money at talent can help retain them in a competitive market, sure. But if the foundational issues in the foundry business aren’t fixed, this could look premature. The report itself notes they prioritized DDR5 over HBM for max profit—that’s smart short-term business, but does it align with the long-term, AI-driven future where HBM is king? They’re playing both sides, which is prudent, but it also shows they’re still reliant on the commodity memory cycle. When that cycle eventually turns down again, will the bonuses vanish just as quickly?
