[Concall] Samsung Electronics "This Year Bit Growth Limited... CAPEX Focused on HBM"

Samsung Electronics stated during the conference call following the announcement of its Q4 results on the 31st, "The industry's bit growth in supply is expected to be limited this year," adding, "Due to the significant CAPEX restrictions in the industry last year, bit supply constraints will be clearly evident, especially in leading-edge processes."

It continued, "While CAPEX within the industry is expected to partially recover this year, a considerable portion will be focused on HBM," and noted, "Bit growth for products other than HBM may be limited." It also explained, "(HBM) has a larger chip size and additional buffers compared to existing DDR products, which imposes productivity constraints, making bit growth within the given CAPEX inevitably more limited." The company also forecasted that "if demand increases, supply will fall short of demand, mainly for leading-edge process products."

Samsung Electronics stated, "Despite profitability deterioration in 2023, we have strengthened our supply capabilities not only for HBM but also for other products based on the CAPEX we have maintained so far," and added, "Amid limited bit production across the industry, we plan to respond stably to customer demand by leveraging our supply competitiveness to meet future demand."