Samsung's U.S. Semiconductor Sales Surpass Set Division for Second Year... Shifting from Consumer Goods to 'Infrastructure Company' Amid AI Boom

U.S. Semiconductor Sales Surpass Set Revenue
Semiconductor Subsidiary Revenue Up 26.5% Year-on-Year
Set Sales Stagnant Since 2023
Big Tech Sales Surge Amid AI Boom

Due to the surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, the focus of Samsung Electronics' U.S. business is shifting from consumer goods to semiconductors. Last year, sales from the U.S. semiconductor sales subsidiary significantly surpassed those of the set subsidiary, which is responsible for home appliances, TVs, and smartphones, signaling a full-fledged transition to a "semiconductor-centric structure."

According to Samsung Electronics' annual business report released on March 12, 2026, the U.S. semiconductor sales subsidiary (SSI) recorded sales of 59.3 trillion won last year, approximately 18.2 trillion won higher than the U.S. set sales subsidiary (SEA), which posted 41.1 trillion won. This represents a 26.5% increase year-on-year. This trend of "crossover" has continued since 2024, when the semiconductor subsidiary’s sales of 46.9 trillion won first surpassed the set subsidiary’s sales of 40.6 trillion won.

From 2015 to 2023, the set subsidiary’s sales consistently outpaced those of the semiconductor subsidiary. This was because Galaxy smartphones and TVs were Samsung Electronics' primary sources of profit in global markets, especially in the United States. At the time, Samsung Electronics, known as a consumer goods company, benefited from the heyday of smartphones and its number one position in the North American TV market, with set sales at times more than double those of semiconductors. Even during the memory semiconductor supercycle of 2017-2018, when Samsung Electronics posted an operating profit of nearly 58 trillion won, the U.S. set subsidiary’s sales remained higher.

However, around 2023, both home appliance and semiconductor demand entered a slump, leading to stagnation in set sales. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the replacement cycle for home appliances, resulting in market saturation. Additionally, the replacement cycle for smartphones in the U.S. has recently lengthened from the previous two years to three or four years or more. Furthermore, prolonged inflation and high interest rates have contributed to stagnating sales in the home appliance and smartphone markets.

In contrast, the semiconductor subsidiary’s sales soared to 46.9 trillion won in 2024 as the industry re-entered a semiconductor supercycle. Industry sources point to expanded data center investments by U.S. big tech firms such as Nvidia, AMD, and Google as the main driver behind Samsung Electronics’ increased semiconductor sales. As competition in generative AI intensifies, U.S. companies are building large-scale data centers, leading to simultaneous increases in demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM), server DRAM, and NAND flash. In particular, skyrocketing demand for memory semiconductors used with Nvidia AI accelerators has rapidly expanded the share of North American sales for memory makers like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

Samsung Electronics has expanded its North American client base with data center-oriented memory products such as server DRAM and enterprise SSDs. More recently, the company has accelerated development of high-performance memory and packaging technologies for AI servers, further broadening its collaboration with major U.S. tech firms.

In fact, the same report shows that Alphabet, Google’s parent company, was newly listed as a major sales destination for Samsung Electronics last year. In addition, Hong Kong Techtronics and Supreme Electronics, both large-scale semiconductor distributors supplying semiconductors to Greater China and other global markets, were included in the 2024 list. In contrast, the U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy dropped from the rankings that year, reflecting the impact of global economic uncertainty and weakened consumer sentiment on the TV and home appliance markets.

Samsung Electronics Best Buy Experience Zone. Samsung Electronics.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business in China has stagnated. Last year, the Chinese semiconductor manufacturing subsidiary (SCS) in Xi'an posted sales of 8.6 trillion won, down about 2.5 trillion won from the previous year. The sales subsidiary (SSS) saw a slight increase from 30.1 trillion won to 31.9 trillion won. This is attributed to heightened competition from Chinese memory makers such as ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT).

An industry insider stated, "It is true that overall conditions in the home appliance industry are unfavorable, but the contrast is even starker because semiconductor sales have grown so much," adding, "The semiconductor supercycle is expected to continue through next year, so this trend is likely to persist for the time being."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.