For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
9-705-508
REV: FEBRUARY 27, 2009
JORDAN I. SIEGEL
JAMES JINHO CHANG
Samsung Electronics
Introduction
Kun Hee Lee, chairman of the Samsung Group, contemplated his company’s strategy while sitting
in the basement office of his home. His office had a one hundred-inch screen on the wall, and in front
of the screen there was a short desk, just one foot in height. Lee spent much of his day in this room,
studying the strategies of his competitors and overseeing multibillion-dollar investment decisions.
Beside his desk were hundreds of DVDs and videos, many examining his competitors’ histories and
strategies. Every new product made by Samsung and its competitors sat along the walls. Trained as
an engineer, Lee eagerly picked apart every product, examining its design and quality of
manufacturing.1
As he sat next to his low desk and sipped a cup of Korean green tea, Lee wondered whether his
legion of Samsung employees was following his stern advice to always demand superiority in
product design and process efficiency. He had grave concerns about complacency in his company.
He remembered how he mentioned in a senior management meeting: “To an outsider, reprimanding
a manager whose division racked up [billions of dollars] in profit might seem bizarre. But I don’t see
it that way. Our abilities and efforts did play a role in our success, but we must realize that most of it
came from the leading companies’ negligence, pure luck, and our predecessors’ sacrifice.”2
Under Lee’s leadership, Samsung had risen to become the world’s leading memory producer for
all types of PCs, digital cameras, game players, and other electronics products. As recently as 1987,
Samsung was a bit player, years behind its key Japanese rivals. But by 2003, Samsung’s memory
division towered over its Japanese rivals in both size and profits. Samsung used the earnings from its
memory division to invest in other technology products. By 2003, with the help of mobile phones,
liquid crystal displays, and memory products, Samsung had generated the second-largest net profit
of any electronics company outside of the United States.
In spite of Samsung’s current success, Lee now worried about mainland Chinese companies that
were beginning to attack Samsung in the same way that Samsung had attacked the Japanese
companies 20 years earlier. The memory chip industry was expected to experience a cyclical
downturn in 2005, and while Samsung had survived the past two downturns with the best
performance in the industry, some outside observers believed that the Chinese entry would
fundamentally change industry conditions in the years ahead.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This case was prepared by Professor Jordan I. Siegel and Professor James Jinho Chang, Yonsei University. HBS cases are developed solely as the
basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective
management.
Copyright © 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call
1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School.
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
705-508
Samsung Electronics
Memory Industry
Over the previous five decades, the semiconductor industry had grown in economic importance.
In 2000, the industry enjoyed $200 billion in sales, and the industry grew by an average of 16% per
year since 1960.3 Semiconductor products were classified into two broad categories of chips: memory
and logic. Logic chips were used to process information and control processes, and memory chips
stored information. Memory chips were further classified into DRAM (Dynamic Random Access
Memory), SRAM (Static RAM), and Flash. This case focuses on the global memory chip industry,
which accounted for $33.7 billion in sales in 2003.
DRAMs accounted for just over half of the memory chip market in 2003. Historically, DRAMs
were used mainly in PCs, but the share of DRAMs going to PCs declined from 80% to 67% between
1990 and 2003. Telecommunications and the consumer electronics market were growing consumers
of DRAMs in 2003. Communications products such as mobile phones, switches, and hubs were
predicted to grow from 3.5% to 7.9% of the DRAM market in 2008; TVs, set-top boxes, and game
devices such as Playstation represented 7% of the market in 2003.
Among the other types of memory chips, SRAM and Flash memory accounted for 10% and 32% of
industry sales, respectively, in 2003. SRAM was a type of buffer memory that facilitated computer
processing and mobile phone functionality. Flash memory, which was the hot-growth area, was used
heavily in digital cameras and mobile phones. While DRAMs lost data when power was turned off,
Flash memory could continue to store data in the absence of a power source.
The memory industry contained powerful suppliers and price-conscious customers. With each
generation of semiconductor equipment, the technology grew more complex and the number of
suppliers became more concentrated. Only two or three main players, including Applied Materials,
Tokyo Electron, and ASML, dominated key segments of the equipment market. Suppliers of memory
raw materials would provide discounts of up to 5% for high-volume buyers. The customers were far
more fragmented, with no single OEM controlling more than 20% of the global PC market in 2005.
Memory represented 4%–12% of material costs for an OEM PC producer, and 4%–7% of material
costs for a mobile phone producer. Because rivalry between PC producers was intense, and because
the PC producers had to face price-conscious consumers, OEMs negotiated hard on price. It did,
however, matter that defective memory could destroy their entire product’s value. Because defective
memory was hard to detect, OEMs would pay upwards of a 1% average price premium for a reliable
supplier.4
In 2005, the industry experienced fierce rivalry and large-scale entry by Chinese firms. In late
2004, Samsung had announced a sharp drop in market prices going into 2005. The price drop was
due partly to an increase in industry capacity and partly to a normal cyclical downturn. While
Samsung succeeded in marketing new types of cutting-edge memory chips, Chinese competitors
competing in the older product lines were willing to sacrifice profits for market share. Whereas the
cost of building a new fab had gone up from $200 million in 1985 to $3 billion in 2004, the Chinese
firms were having little difficulty raising the money from local and international sources. The
Chinese firms did face enormous difficulty in even beginning to produce frontier products because
they lacked the necessary organizational experience and tacit knowledge required to master the
design and production process. Still, with their easy access to outside finance and talented local
engineers, the Chinese had the real potential to build these skills over the next decade. In 2005, there
were no effective substitutes that could even challenge DRAMs or Flash memory. Still, despite the
largely theoretical benefits of new types of memory, memory based on nanotechnology was at least
being contemplated. If new types of technology were ever created by industry start-ups, some
outside observers believed that the industry incumbents would be locked into established designs
2
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
Samsung Electronics
705-508
and established production methodologies and would be too slow in reacting to the technological
shift.
Semiconductor Production Process
A semiconductor was used to perform a desired function in an electronic device (either storing
data or processing data). After designers had made a blueprint based on the intended function, the
physical shape of the chip was transferred to a mask that could be used to create identical chips.
Separately, a cylindrical silicon ingot was shaped to the desired diameter (in 2005, 12 inches), and the
silicon ingot was further cut into wafers that were almost unimaginably thin (only 250–350 microns
thick, thinner than a human hair). Next, companies like Samsung Electronics took the wafers and
produced memory chips through a series of thermal, metallurgical, and chemical processing steps. In
the course of this production process, billions of electronic circuits were defined within numerous
individual chips (also called “dice”) on the 12-inch wafer. The result of this production process was
the creation of a matrix of rectangular chips on the wafer. Finally, the wafers were sawed into
individual chips. Throughout the production process, the chips were tested for reliability.
One of the main tasks of the memory chip producer was to generate as many individual chips in
one production step as possible while minimizing defective chips. To accomplish this task, producers
made design and process improvements that would allow more electronic circuits to fit on eversmaller chip sizes as well as ensure more uniformity in the manufacturing process.5 Roughly once a
decade, new technology had allowed memory chip producers to work with larger wafer sizes so that
more chips could be cut in one production step. Moreover, memory chip producers invested in
process technology so that fewer defective chips would be sent to the OEM purchaser.
Major Memory Competitors in 2005
This section lists Samsung’s major competitors in the memory chip industry in 2005. (Companies
are listed in alphabetical order.) The financial performance of Samsung and its publicly listed
competitors is presented in Exhibit 1.
Elpida Memory, Inc.
Elpida—Japan’s only remaining DRAM producer—was established as a joint venture between
NEC and Hitachi in December 1999. In the three years after its establishment, Elpida suffered
through a period of financial losses due to a DRAM market decline, as well as to a decision not to
invest in new products and new product capacity as the market recovered. Subsequently, Elpida
decided to focus on developing memory products for mobile devices and consumer electronics
products. That way, it could try to sell primarily to Japanese customers who had, until then, bought
memory chips from Samsung and Micron. In June 2004, Elpida announced that it would start
construction on its second 12-inch wafer fab next to its current manufacturing facility in Hiroshima.
The cost of the new facility was $4.5 billion, and Elpida partially financed the new facility through a
$100 million investment from Intel, along with a public equity issue.
Hynix Semiconductor, Inc.
South Korea-based Hynix was founded in 1983 as Hyundai Electronics, and it changed its name in
2001 while separating from the financially distressed Hyundai Group. In the early 1990s, Hynix
enjoyed some of the same cost advantages as its Korean competitor Samsung, but it lost the
3
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
705-508
Samsung Electronics
technological lead. Moreover, Hynix had trouble timing its capital investments to take advantage of
market developments. In 1996, when the DRAM market began experiencing a cyclical decline,
Samsung maintained the minimum capital expenditures needed to maintain smooth business
operations, while Hynix dramatically increased its capital investments into the downturn. Hynix lost
even more ground to Samsung in 1999 when the market began to expand dramatically. Samsung
significantly increased its investment in fast response to market growth, while Hynix actually
decreased its capital investment.6 In 1999, Hyundai Electronics acquired LG Semiconductor, the
semiconductor unit of LG Group.
This acquisition loaded Hyundai Electronics with LG
Semiconductor’s enormous debt, which together with a cyclical industry downturn forced Hynix
almost to the point of collapse in 2001–2002. A multibillion-dollar bailout allowed the company to
survive. Still, Hynix was forced to lay off 30% of its workforce and sell all non-core operations.
Recently, Hynix entered into a joint venture with ST Microelectronics to build a memory production
fab near Shanghai in China.
Also, in April 2005 Hynix paid $185 million to settle charges by the U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ) that it and the other memory manufacturers had conspired to control prices in the U.S.
between April 1999 and June 2002. In exchange for bringing the alleged wrongdoing to the U.S.
government’s attention, Micron was granted amnesty by the DOJ. In September 2004, Infineon
settled its part of the investigation in exchange for a $160 million fine.7 Samsung, in December 2004,
set aside $100 million as a contingency to cover any future settlement. All key data analyzed in this
case came from the year 2003, by which time the industry’s alleged cooperation on price had ceased
according to the DOJ case.
Infineon Technologies AG
Germany-based Infineon was spun off from Siemens in 1999. Siemens had been in the
semiconductor business since the beginning of the industry. Throughout the company’s history,
Siemens’ semiconductor unit formed alliances with other industry competitors to reduce investment
risk and shorten time-to-market. As a result of its reliance on strategic alliances, the company always
managed to stay near the front of the pack in the industry. In recent years, Infineon entered a
product purchase and capacity agreement with Taiwan-based DRAM manufacturer Winbond, under
which Infineon agreed to license its 0.11um DRAM technology to Winbond in exchange for the
output using that technology. Infineon also formed a joint venture with Taiwan-based Nanya
Technology to build a new plant in Taiwan. Over the next few years, Infineon planned to invest $1.5
billion (over half its capital budget) in Asia. Infineon in 2005 had more than 25 R&D locations spread
all over the globe.
Micron Technology
Micron, based in Boise, Idaho, was founded in 1978. It sold its first DRAM product manufactured
at its own facility in 1982 and went public in 1984. Micron was the sole U.S. producer remaining in
this industry, and it had expanded its memory business primarily through acquisitions. In 1998,
Micron purchased the memory chip business of Texas Instruments, including plants in Texas, Italy,
Japan, and Singapore. Subsequently, Micron purchased Dominion Semiconductor, a unit of Toshiba
located in Virginia. Over its 26-year existence, Micron had encountered numerous periods of severe
financial distress. Starting in the late 1990s, Micron exited many of its non-DRAM memory
businesses and reduced its workforce by 10%. As of 2003, Micron was focused almost entirely on
DRAM production (accounting for 96% of sales). In September 2003, Micron received a $500 million
investment from Intel, and Micron agreed to use the money to invest in next-generation DRAM
technology.
4
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
Samsung Electronics
705-508
Nanya Technology Corporation
Taiwan-based Nanya was the fifth-largest DRAM manufacturer, and it had two manufacturing
plants. In 1998, Nanya purchased current-generation DRAM technology from IBM Corporation. In
December 2002, Nanya and Infineon launched joint developments for next-generation process
technology. The pair of companies formed a joint venture named Inotera, and together they invested
a total of $2.2 billion toward a large production facility near Taipei. Inotera began producing 256Mbit
DRAM starting in June 2004.
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC)
SMIC, established in 2000 and headquartered in Shanghai, was China’s largest foundry,
manufacturing logic and memory products including DRAM. Foundries did not design chips as
Samsung did, but, rather, took designs from other firms and produced chips based on blueprints. In
2003, SMIC and Infineon signed an agreement that authorized Infineon to license technology to SMIC
in exchange for purchasing rights to much of the output. SMIC also made a similar alliance
agreement with Japan-based Elpida. To increase its production capacity, SMIC purchased a $1 billion
Chinese production facility from Motorola in October 2003. Through this deal, Motorola took a
minority stake in SMIC and also agreed to license technology to its Chinese partner in exchange for
exclusive purchase of the production capacity. SMIC’s revenue had increased from $50.3 million in
2002 to $365.8 million in 2003. In March 2004, the company completed a dual listing on the New York
and Hong Kong stock exchanges.
While SMIC was the only Chinese DRAM producer, other Chinese producers had already entered
other semiconductor markets for logic chips. As of 2005, few of the Chinese producers had any
design capability, and they were producing chips licensed from established incumbents using process
technology that was one or two generations old. Still, because of the amount of resources they had
attracted from Chinese and foreign investors, these Chinese entrants could afford to sell their
products at low prices and grow their market share at the expense of profitability. These Chinese
producers of logic chips in 2005 included Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (ASMC) of
Shanghai, Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., HeJian Technology (Suzhou) Co., and
Shanghai Hua Hong NEC Electronics Co. Grace Semiconductor, cofounded by the son of former
Chinese leader Jiang Zemin in 2000, began production of logic chips in 2003 after raising over $1.6
billion.8 Combined sales by Chinese producers soared to $771 million in 2003, from just $354 million
in 2002.9 The increase could be attributed mainly to SMIC, the country’s most advanced producer,
and the other top producers (Shanghai Hua Hong NEC Electronics, and ASMC), which collectively
were responsible for 84% of China’s 2003 semiconductor production.10 China had 4% of the world’s
chip manufacturing capacity as of 2004, but that number was expected to rise to 9% in 2007.11 While
Chinese producers other than SMIC had so far focused on logic chips, there was a possibility that any
of them could enter the memory chip market at any time.
Samsung Electronics: Company Overview
In 2005, the Samsung Group, which included Samsung Electronics Company, was the largest
conglomerate (termed chaebol) in South Korea. The total net sales of the Samsung Group had reached
$135 billion in 2004. In that same year, the Group had 337 overseas operations in 58 countries and
employed approximately 212,000 people worldwide. The three core business sectors within the
Group were electronics, finance, and trade and services.
5
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
705-508
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Company, henceforth called “Samsung” in this case, was established in 1969
to manufacture black-and-white TV sets. At the end of 2004, the company had $78.5 billion in net
sales, $66 billion in assets, and 113,000 employees. According to Interbrand, the company’s brand
value increased from $5.2 billion (ranking 43rd in the world) in 2000, to $12.6 billion (ranking 21st in
the world) in 2004. In 2004, Samsung stood ahead of many brands such as Philips, Kodak, and
Panasonic. Sony ranked 20th by comparison. In 2005 Samsung consisted of five business divisions,
including the Semiconductor Business that is the focus of this case. Samsung’s other divisions
included the Digital Media Business, which produced TVs, AV equipment, and computers; the
Telecommunications Business, which manufactured mobile phones and network equipment; the LCD
Business, which made LCD panels for notebook computers, desktop monitors, and HDTV; and the
Digital Appliances Business, which produced and sold refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing
machines. The organizational structure is shown in Exhibit 2.
Development of the Memory Business
Korea’s semiconductor industry started wafer production in 1974, when a small start-up called
Korea Semiconductor Company began manufacturing wafers in October of that year. Without strong
financing and proprietary technology, the start-up quickly ran into financial difficulties. Kun Hee
Lee, the third son of Samsung Group’s founder Byung Chull Lee (who was also chairman at the
time), decided to purchase Korea Semiconductor Company using his own personal savings.12 Kun
Hee Lee saw other Korean companies investing in steel and other heavy industries, but he felt that
semiconductor investment offered higher growth rates and the chance to move beyond basic industry
into the design and marketing of advanced technologies. At that time, Samsung Electronics itself was
a producer of low-end consumer electronics. The company relied on labor-intensive assembly lines,
importing semiconductors and other advanced products from abroad. Kun Hee Lee merged the two
companies and sought to create a global powerhouse for semiconductors and consumer electronics.
The first semiconductor developed by the young company was the “watch chip,” used in
wristwatches. The then-president of South Korea, Jung Hee Park, was so proud of the company’s
accomplishment that he had his name printed on many of the watches. President Park would
personally give the watches as gifts to visiting foreign dignitaries.13
During the 1980s, Kun Hee Lee convinced his father that semiconductors represented the
future of Samsung Group, and so the Group made Samsung Electronics its star affiliate and gave
it most of the Group’s resources. The Group wanted to get into DRAMs, the high-growth memory
segment in the 1980s and 1990s.14 So from 1983 to 1985, even as the global semiconductor market
went into a recession and Intel exited the DRAM business, Samsung allocated more than $100
million to DRAM development.15 At the time, it cost $1.30 to produce a single 64K DRAM chip,
whereas market prices were at that time below $1.00. Still, Samsung believed that market growth
would vindicate its investment strategy, and so losing money for the first several years did not
discourage the Group from making further investments. As the capital requirements for a single
firm increased during the late 1980s and early 1990s, Japanese competitors struggled to make the
investments necessary to compete in emerging generations of chips.
In the mid-1980s Samsung was building its first large manufacturing facility. Building
semiconductor facilities was difficult and time consuming because the production-related machinery
was highly sensitive to dust and electronic shock. At the time, the normal construction period for a
new fab lasted 18 months. However, the company wanted to accomplish the same task in just six
months. As a result, construction crews worked shifts covering all 168 hours of the week in the midst
of a harsh Korean winter. One memorable event during the construction process was the completion
of a four-kilometer-long road in just a single day. One day, when the main production equipment
6
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
Samsung Electronics
705-508
was shipped in from abroad, the Samsung installation team could not believe themselves. The same
road that had been largely unpaved in the morning had been turned into a two-lane asphalt road by
the afternoon.16 Manual laborers were not the only ones who were reputed to work long hours in
voluntary pursuit of the company’s mission. In the 1980s, nearly all of the engineers working on
DRAM research and development said their weekly schedule consisted of Monday-TuesdayWednesday-Thursday-Friday-Friday-Friday. 17
The company became the prime source of value for Samsung Group, and when Group founder
Byung Chull Lee retired, he handed control over to the current chairman, (his son) Kun Hee Lee. It
was a reward for what Kun Hee Lee had already accomplished in making Samsung Electronics a
viable competitor in the global memory industry. Since 1992, semiconductors had been South
Korea’s largest export, and as of 2004, Korea’s semiconductor exports totaled $25.1 billion, fully 10.4%
of the country’s export volume. Samsung alone was responsible for 22% of all Korea’s exports in
2004, and the company represented 23% of total market value on the Korea Stock Exchange.18
Technology Development
To design and produce its first 64K DRAMs in the 1980s, Samsung had required outside
technology. Company executives searched around the globe for a company that would license its
DRAM technology to Samsung. It found that U.S.-based Micron was willing to accept a cash
payment in exchange for teaching Samsung how to produce 64K DRAMs.19
To develop frontier technology for the next generation of DRAM, Samsung created what was, at
the time, an unusual internal competition across global R&D sites. The company hired one team
composed primarily of Korean Americans with extensive job experience in the semiconductor
industry and located that team in California. At the same time, Samsung set up a team in South
Korea, also headed by two Korean Americans with extensive industry experience.20 The teams were
told to be cooperative, but each was to come up with its own solution. The team in California won
the competition for designing 256K DRAM, but in the following generation of 1Mbit technology, the
team in Korea won.21 In subsequent years, the company set up competing product development
teams throughout its operations.
Beginning with 4Mbit DRAM in the late 1980s, companies faced a critical decision about how to fit
four million cells onto a tiny chip. Each cell, a location to store information, consisted of a transistor
and a capacitor. Two ideas were debated within the industry for how to fit more cells onto a chip.
One idea, called “stacking,” involved tearing down what had been a one-level construction on the
chip and replacing it with an apartment building-like structure of cells. Each floor of cells would be
conveniently stacked on another. Another idea, called “trenching,” involved digging below the
surface of the chip and creating floors below. Both technologies had pros and cons, with IBM,
Toshiba, and NEC using the trench method and Matsushita, Fujitsu, and Hitachi adopting the stack
method. Chairman Lee was personally responsible for making the ultimate decision; after analyzing
the data, he chose the stacking method. From his perspective, trenching was too complex for its own
good.22 If a problem was discovered in a trench-style chip, one couldn’t look inside to see what was
wrong because everything was covered and hidden from view. In contrast, the process of stacking
was simple and modular, making it far easier to see and fix mistakes.
IBM, Toshiba, and NEC subsequently discovered problems with trenching, but had already made
multibillion-dollar commitments to the technology and had created design routines that worked only
with the trench design system. When the companies tried to switch technologies to stacking, they
lost years of development time. In the meantime, Hitachi became number one in the industry for a
time, and Samsung began to catch up with Hitachi.23
7
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
705-508
Samsung Electronics
As of the early 1990s, Samsung had joined the industry’s top echelon. Samsung still wanted to be
number one, so the company’s senior manager devised a plan to increase the size of the wafers used
to cut the DRAM chips to eight inches.24 With a larger wafer, more chips could be cut at the same
time. No one else in the industry was willing to take the risk of investing in 8-inch mass production
so early. The production technology required was far from being proven viable, but Samsung went
ahead and invested $1 billion towards mastering the new technology. The decision paid off.
Samsung gained number one market share in the DRAM industry in 1992 and maintained its
leadership over the following 13 years.25 This leadership held up during market peaks and lows.
Exhibit 3 shows the evolution of Samsung’s costs and prices over time relative to its competitors’
during the most recent industry cycle (1Q00–1Q04).
Product Mix
As of 2003, Samsung offered over 1,200 different variations of DRAM products. Given that
DRAM products were conventionally thought of as commodities, the ability to produce 1,200
different varieties was unprecedented in the memory industry. Product ranged from so-called
“frontier products” (e.g., 512Mbit DRAM) at the cutting edge of technology to “legacy products” (e.g.,
64Mbit DRAM) that Samsung offered to customers after the industry had moved on to later
generations. Within each product generation, there also existed “specialty products” (e.g., DDR2
SDRAM, Rambus DRAM) using customized architectures for niche markets. Exhibits 4 and 5
compare Samsung’s product mix with those of its competitors. In the semiconductor industry, prices
for new-generation products stayed high for only a few quarters before plunging rapidly (Exhibit 6).
After a generation had passed, however, legacy product lines could be transformed into high-value
niche products. Exhibit 7a shows Samsung’s overall prices and cost structures compared with its
competitors’ for 2003. Exhibits 7b–7e compare prices and cost structures across competitors in 2003
for individual product generations: 64Mbit, 128Mbit, 256Mbit, and 512Mbit. Exhibits 7f–7i compare
prices and cost structures by product line for the then-popular 256Mbit generation in 2003. Exhibits
7j-7k compare prices and cost structure of specialty products for the 128Mbit generation in 2003.
In 2004, Samsung also sought to create the same advantage in Flash memory that it enjoyed in
DRAM. As shown in Exhibit 8, Samsung was seeking to move some of its production capacity from
DRAMs to Flash memory. Whereas the DRAM market still closely followed growth in PCs, which
were becoming a mature, single-digit growth market, Flash memory was tied to growth in digital
cameras and camera phones. The Flash memory market was expected to grow at a double-digit rate
for at least another five years. That growth was expected to keep Flash prices quite high relative to
DRAM prices.26 Samsung Semiconductor’s president proposed a new “Hwang’s Law” that was set
to eclipse Gordon Moore’s theory. In 1965 Moore prophesized that semiconductor density would
double every 18 months; his theory turned out to be true for the next 40 years. Chang Gyu Hwang,
the head of Samsung’s Memory Division, proposed Hwang’s Law, namely, that Flash memory
density would double every 12 months. And Hwang predicted that Samsung would be the one to
accomplish that goal consistently over the coming years.27 A description of Samsung’s performance
in Flash memory is presented in Exhibit 9.
Design and Production
Unlike its competitors, Samsung tried to create new uses for DRAMs by putting its manufacturing
and R&D in support of design firms such as Rambus. Over time, Samsung had launched new DRAM
products with product-specific applications in laptops and personal game players, for example.
Many of these applications shared a common core design. Even two seemingly different
architectures, DDR DRAM and Rambus DRAM, shared a common core design. The difference
8
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
Samsung Electronics
705-508
between them was that Rambus had an enhanced component, a high-speed interface I/O, and so
Samsung needed to add additional design work to connect the DRAM core design to the high-speed
interface I/O. Samsung actively sought to customize its products around a core design.
Samsung’s main R&D facility and all of its fab lines were located at a single site just south of
Seoul, South Korea. In contrast, its competitors’ facilities were scattered across the globe.28 With the
benefit of collocation and scale of fab investment, Samsung was estimated to have saved an average
of 12% on fab construction costs. At Samsung’s primary campus, the R&D engineers and production
engineers lived together in the same company-provided housing. On a daily basis, they shared meals
and their worksites were placed near one another’s so that the engineers could quickly solve design
and process engineering problems together. The site was located in the mountains on flattened land,
where the air was remarkably clean and free of dust and other particles. The site extended over
several kilometers and was still mostly covered by trees.
In its fabs, Samsung produced multiple product architectures on each production line. Process
engineers had reputedly figured out how to modify its production equipment for all kinds of
contingencies. As with all semiconductor makers, Samsung’s production yields depended on the
number of good chips that could be cut out of a wafer, which in turn hinged on the size of the wafer
and the precision of the design rule used to cut the wafer. Samsung had the ability to learn new
design rules and then apply those new design rules towards the production of all product types
(including some legacy products). Exhibits 10a–10c compare Samsung’s wafer-size mix, design rule,
and yield with those of its competitors.
Samsung prided itself on the reliability of its products and its ability to customize products to
customer demands. During the 1980s and parts of the 1990s, Lee had seen that his company was
producing shoddy products.29 In a 1994 book delivered to all employees, he explained that the
Samsung Group had lost track of quality because its business had begun 55 years earlier selling
commodities like sugar and textiles in a growing Korean market. Lee argued that employees must
now think of quality first.30 He also launched mass burnings of shoddy Samsung products: tens of
millions of dollars’ worth of flawed products would be burned in an open field, and he would speak
in the tone of an evangelist and admonish his employees about their quality control. By the late
1990s, the company routinely won key industry competitions for reliability. Prior to 1995, the
company had won one major competition. Between 1995 and 2003, the company won awards for
reliability and performance from most major customers. Many customers, even rivals of one another,
named Samsung their supplier of choice. For instance, the company simultaneously developed a
new Flash memory chip for Sony Ericsson and a Flash memory chip customized for Nokia.
Human Resource Policies
In the past, Korean companies often hired employees because they came from the right high
school or the right region, but Samsung tried to eliminate this practice. It was considered taboo at
Samsung to ask a coworker about his or her university or place of origin.31 Prospective employees
were given an aptitude test covering language skills, mathematical knowledge, reasoning, and space
perception. Samsung also tried to break the mold of traditional seniority-based promotion, which
was still widespread in Asia. Employees were given evaluations on an A, B, C, and D scale every
year, and only those who earned two A’s within three years were eligible for promotion. As a result
of the more meritocratic evaluation system, younger, high-potential, English-speaking managers
were quickly promoted up the organizational hierarchy. Among the company’s senior-most
executives, several had attained their current positions in their early 40s, thus shooting past older
employees who might have previously risen to the top based on seniority.
9
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
705-508
Samsung Electronics
Samsung also put in place programs to invest in employees’ global business skills. The Regional
Specialist Program, for example, placed high-potential employees in a foreign country to learn the
local language and culture for one year. Upon their return, the Regional Specialist produced reports
on their experiences that became part of a codified knowledge database. Samsung sponsored
hundreds of employees’ MBA and Ph.D. studies in foreign countries.
Unlike some other Korean companies, Samsung actively recruited foreign talent, including
westerners and members of the Korean diaspora who had long ago left Korea to live and work in the
United States and Europe. After hiring one top American executive in the late 1990s, the CEO of
Samsung, Jong Yong Yun, sensed that the company might resent the new hire, an outsider who could
not speak fluent Korean. Yun declared, “Some of you may want to put [him] on top of a tree and
then shake him down. If anybody tries that, they will be severely reprimanded!”32 The CEO then
persuaded his executives to welcome the foreigner. Throughout the top ranks of Samsung
Electronics were a number of international recruits who previously worked at top U.S. technology
companies. Most prominently, these included Chang Gyu Hwang, current president of Samsung’s
Semiconductor Business; Oh Hyun Kwon, the head of Samsung’s System LSI Division; and Dae Je
Chin, recent president of Samsung’s Digital Media Business and the current Korean Minister of
Information and Communications.
More recently, Chairman Lee created Samsung’s Global Strategy Group, which was used to attract
talent from around the world to the organization. The Global Strategy Group was a corporate
resource that helped to solve business problems at the business-unit level and prepared global
managers for important positions. David Steel, the highest-ranking Western manager at Samsung,
joined the Global Strategy Group in 1997. Steel had subsequently been promoted to the position of
Vice President of Business Development in the Digital Media Business.
Samsung also proudly claimed that it invested more in its employees than almost any other
competitor in its industry. When Lee was inaugurated as Group chairman in 1987, he stated in his
inauguration speech: “What do our salaried workers worry about as soon as they open the door from
their house to work? Probably over 90% will think about their family and their own health, their
children’s education, and their retirement.”
As a result, Lee proposed that the company would take care of 90% of their burden, allowing
them to concentrate on innovation and productivity. He also declared that the company would
richly reward individuals for their accomplishments, while at the same time not firing people for
failure. He declared in the company’s guidebook: “Take the example of a horse trainer: The best
ones never use a stick or whip, only carrots for reward. At Samsung, we reward outstanding
performance; we do not punish failure. This is my personal philosophy and belief. We need
punishment only for those who lack ethics, are unfair, tell lies, hold others back or stand in the
way of our unified march.”33
The average salary at Samsung in 2003 was $44,000; the comparable figures for Micron, Infineon,
Hynix, and SMIC were estimated to be $54,000, $72,400, $24,600, and $10,800. Beyond base salaries,
in 2005 Samsung had three general types of performance-based incentives. First, so-called Project
Incentives rewarded project members from all job functions with cash bonuses at the conclusion of a
successful project, such as for the DDR2 rollout. Project incentives ranged from a few thousand
dollars to more than $1 million for a project team. Second, Productivity Incentives rewarded
employees for performance at the division level (for example, the Memory Division), but could be
modified for each department or team in the division on the basis of its performance and
contribution. The Productivity Incentives paid up to 300% of annual base salary. Third, a Profit
Sharing program rewarded each member of a division, paying up to 50% of annual base salary
depending on divisional performance as measured by economic value added (EVA).
10
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
Samsung Electronics
705-508
Samsung established practices that both facilitated debate and encouraged people to agree on a
final outcome. For example, before deciding how to design and produce a new product, the
company encouraged fierce debates where all levels of experts from junior staff and engineers to
senior executives were actively urged to voice their opinions. After considering all views, senior
executives made a final decision, and everyone was expected to work toward the common goal.
Strategic Challenges
In 2005, had the competitive environment changed dramatically, and did this change require
Samsung to modify its strategy? The company faced new challenges from Chinese entrants who
were attacking the DRAM market in much the same way that Samsung did 20 years ago. These
companies were using partnerships to learn from industry incumbents like Infineon and Elpida, and
they were attracting billions of dollars in outside financing to build state-of-the-art production
facilities. Like Samsung in the 1980s, these Chinese producers had the patience to endure years of
losses to gain significant market share. Statistics for evaluating the technological capabilities of
China’s semiconductor industry are presented in Exhibit 11. While the U.S. government forbade U.S.
producers from shipping advanced semiconductor equipment to China, and while the Taiwanese
government forbade its companies from shipping cutting-edge production technology to China, these
may have been only short-term obstacles in China’s path. Instead of purchasing equipment from
Taiwan and the U.S., Chinese producers simply went to other countries. China lacked critical
infrastructure to support a cutting-edge semiconductor industry, but the government was firmly
committed to subsidizing all infrastructure needs around Shanghai and Beijing. The Chinese
government was able to provide cheap credit, abundant land, cheap utilities, engineering talent, tax
incentives, and other essential resources to anyone who wanted to build a cutting-edge
semiconductor facility with a Chinese partner.34
One option that Samsung managers had in 2005 was to collaborate actively with a Chinese
partner. By 2010, China was expected to become the world’s second-largest purchaser of
semiconductors, after the U.S.35 In spite of the fact that the overall memory chip industry had been
growing modestly over the previous year, major producers held back from making major new
investments in China. Still, if industry growth picked up sharply, observers from Nikkei Electronics
Asia predicted that the major DRAM producers would look to Chinese partners to expand joint
investments.36 The risk in working with the Chinese producers was that intellectual property rights
were still not protected fully, and so sharing blueprints and expertise with a Chinese partner could
lead to the partner becoming a rival some day. Also, if Samsung’s competitive advantage had come
from creating a unique culture at the main R&D production site south of Seoul, did moving
production to China threaten the survival of that unique company culture?
An alternative option for Samsung was to increase its investment in cutting-edge memory
products, particularly for new niche markets. If Samsung was the market leader in terms of low cost
and productivity, then many thought that Samsung should not be teaching Chinese competitors how
to become more low cost and productive. Instead, Samsung should potentially cede the lower end of
the market to the Chinese while trying to develop more high-value niche products.
How should Chairman Lee and the senior management team at Samsung react to the threat of
Chinese competition?
11
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
446
192
21
106
165
161
51
-110
-15
625
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
333
178
36
5
84
77
99
22
11
697
6298
4836
231
102
1074
149
3086
2938
302
5731
1990
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
425
242
36
5
98
68
93
26
11
706
6871
4997
371
90
947
222
4034
3812
414
7568
1991
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
506
285
48
7
121
73
89
16
9
724
7741
5634
443
92
1177
355
4758
4402
445
8102
1992
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
828
378
57
104
231
186
80
-106
8
966
10091
6874
678
191
2050
539
4040
3501
433
8296
1993
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1629
608
83
401
611
433
155
-279
8
1530
14604
9150
1392
1198
3925
1149
4658
3509
394
11314
1994
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2953
1130
129
844
1092
556
156
-400
7
2775
20898
12112
1454
3234
6069
1509
6054
4546
482
17589
1995
4537
2721
0
-474
966
346
6045
5699
411
1449
9910
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3654
1835
192
594
1055
287
480
193
9
3752
18804
14123
1512
194
1978
1141
9276
8135
480
19680
1996
6201
3959
21
-599
1192
611
13775
13165
651
-1662
14768
2885
1623
457
-95
615
340
1139
799
22
3205
4402
3516
2078
209
332
990
988
889
-99
31
4851
13048
8975
896
87
1967
966
9171
8205
536
24251
1997
6288
4739
29
-129
338
578
8966
8388
941
1096
11742
3175
2149
637
-775
-232
906
1253
347
94
3078
4471
3012
2125
272
-234
242
649
865
215
65
4688
16629
11571
1378
259
4426
983
8461
7477
924
14852
1998
8035
6584
68
167
1607
811
10379
9568
1055
9204
20911
4208
2421
733
60
613
878
996
118
22
3861
6088
3764
2107
322
-69
827
1614
1639
26
132
6965
22802
15419
1390
2768
6179
1026
5016
3990
630
20774
1999
9489
4648
254
-2280
2788
280
10545
10265
1222
7097
18217
7757
3492
1092
1199
2077
1074
284
-791
0
6368
9254
7336
2963
428
1548
2629
2466
982
-1485
111
9632
27216
17459
1603
4775
7506
1534
3224
1690
273
23788
2000
4097
3011
264
-3844
-69
452
4910
4458
846
7892
11165
6371
4245
1336
-663
287
955
414
-541
1
8093
10483
3936
1984
490
-521
1578
1678
531
-1147
27
8363
24418
18486
1824
2222
4744
2129
2040
-89
155
21629
2001
3739
2015
338
-1560
933
255
3414
3159
434
24813
8891
4966
3085
1011
-974
73
1847
1745
-102
24
7735
9662
2589
1146
561
-907
698
986
454
-532
27
7431
33167
21910
2451
5875
9325
4734
1355
-3379
84
27437
2002
4030
2272
296
-1770
1171
529
3231
2702
253
4267
7218
4884
2522
864
-345
757
2185
1978
-207
41
6539
8018
3091
1895
656
-1280
447
922
1086
164
40
7075
36385
24644
2947
4975
8222
6667
968
-5699
80
32892
2003
*Parent only.
Thomson Datastream.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
301
100
9
98
142
164
24
-141
1
388
5896
4550
136
233
1115
80
2019
1940
194
4334
1989
Hyundai Semiconductor went public in December 1996. It acquired LG Semiconductor in 1999 and changed its name to Hynix. Micron was incorporated in 1978. Infineon was founded in April 1999, when the semiconductor
operations of parent company Siemens AG were spun off to form a separate legal entity. In March 2000, the company went public and is now listed on the Stock Exchanges of Frankfurt and New York. For 1985 to 1998, Siemens
AG data were used.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
91
69
5
-23
-1
9
45
35
5
129
4427
3735
38
149
371
199
1786
1587
89
3370
1988
Note:
49
43
3
-34
-13
5
44
39
0
132
76
46
7
0
18
1
36
34
2
133
3006
2586
22
44
143
103
598
495
61
1383
1987
-12-
Source:
2271
1954
14
37
116
45
467
422
51
991
1986
1903
1652
11
24
75
49
435
386
48
748
1985
Financial Results (USD, millions)
Samsung*
Net Revenues
Cost of Goods Sold
R&D
Net Income
Cashflow from Operation
Cash & Equivalents(a)
Long&Short-term Debt(b)
Net Debt (b-a)
Interest Expense/Debt
Total Assets
Micron
Net Revenues
Cost of Goods Sold
R&D
Net Income
Cashflow from Operation
Cash & Equivalents(a)
Long&Short-term Debt(b)
Net Debt (b-a)
Interest Expense/Debt
Total Assets
Infineon
Net Revenues
Cost of Goods Sold
R&D
Net Income
Cashflow from Operation
Cash & Equivalents(a)
Long&Short-term Debt(b)
Net Debt (b-a)
Interest Expense/Debt
Total Equity
Total Assets
Hynix
Net Revenues
Cost of Goods Sold
R&D
Net Income
Cashflow from Operation
Cash & Equivalents(a)
Long&Short-term Debt(b)
Net Debt (b-a)
Interest Expense/Debt
Total Equity
Total Assets
Exhibit 1
705-508
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
Samsung Electronics
Exhibit 2
705-508
Organizational Structure in 2005
Chairman
Kun Hee Lee
Vice Chairman & CEO
Jong Yong Yun
CFO
Doh Seok Choi
CTO
Yoon Woo Lee
Semiconductor
Business
• memory
• system LSI
• Hard disk drive
• optical storage
Digital Media
Business
• TV
• AV
• monitors
• DVD players
Telecom
Business
• mobile handset
• PDA
• network
equipment
LCD
Business
• LCD panels for
notebook
computers and
HDTV
Digital Appliance
Business
• refrigerators
• air conditioners
• washing
machines
President
Chang Gyu
Hwang
President
Gee Sung Choi
President
Ki Tae Lee
President
Sang Wan Lee
President
Hyun Bong Lee
Source:
Company data.
13
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
Source: Merrill Lynch.
Price Premium of Samsung ASP
over Competitors' ASP
Operating Margin of
(Samsung - Competitors'
Average)
2Q00
3Q00
4Q00
1Q01
2Q01
42%
45%
33%
41%
33.8
-6%
22%
32%
36.5
8%
36%
60%
57%
75%
22.9 14.30
-37% -37%
8.56
6.08
29%
28.72 29.83 37.76 20.95 12.42
22.21 24.68 23.94 17.40 11.82
23% 17% 37% 17%
5%
36
8.90
9.80
-10%
26.62 26.50 30.93 16.01 10.58
7.98
4.20
4.38
18.11 16.69 10.88 14.14 13.46 13.76 12.00 11.00
32% 37% 65% 12% -27% -73% -186% -151%
70%
68%
9.02
-37%
41%
54%
24%
3.49
8.58
-27% 146%
86% 101%
23%
4.80
-47%
7.35
3.86
3.73
8.73
9.33
9.38
-19% -142% -152%
5.01
8.28
-65%
1Q02
32.49 25.13 30.83 25.65 12.59
8.30
3.76
2.85
34.75 24.00 20.31 19.65 15.81 15.96 12.01
6.67
-7%
4% 34% 23% -26% -92% -219% -134%
4Q01
9.31
5.72
39%
4.86
9.53
-96%
3Q01
5.16
7.46
-45%
39.08 38.44 43.79 33.42 20.82 13.24
16.95 13.64 14.41 15.70 12.36 12.02
57% 65% 67% 53% 41%
9%
1Q00
57%
11%
7.36
-14%
6.30
9.15
-45%
7.20
8.20
-14%
7.48
8.98
-20%
7.75
5.33
31%
2Q02
77%
33%
6.21
-16%
4.71
7.47
-59%
5.50
7.50
-36%
5.25
7.97
-52%
6.86
4.92
28%
3Q02
DRAM Average Selling Price (ASP), Operating Cost, and Operating Margin (256Mbit equivalent)
Samsung
Average Selling Price($)
Operating Cost($)
Operating Margin
Micron
Average Selling Price($)
Operating Cost($)
Operating Margin
Infineon
Average Selling Price($)
Operating Cost($)
Operating Margin
Hynix
Average Selling Price($)
Operating Cost($)
Operating Margin
Worldwide
Average Selling Price($)
ASP Quarterly Change
Exhibit 3
68%
44%
6.14
-1%
4.92
6.56
-33%
5.90
7.96
-35%
4.99
7.25
-45%
7.58
5.33
30%
4Q02
53%
19%
5.12
-17%
4.57
6.16
-35%
4.89
5.62
-15%
5.10
7.96
-56%
5.76
4.77
17%
1Q03
42%
17%
4.62
-10%
4.50
5.61
-24%
4.69
5.10
-9%
4.33
6.65
-53%
5.27
4.60
13%
2Q03
30%
10%
5.47
19%
5.46
4.82
12%
5.41
4.69
13%
4.97
6.06
-22%
5.79
4.00
31%
3Q03
27%
11%
5.37
-2%
5.36
4.37
18%
5.21
4.69
10%
5.32
5.57
-5%
5.90
3.82
35%
4Q03
-14-
28%
26%
5.06
-6%
5.16
3.89
25%
4.95
4.75
4%
4.51
4.75
-5%
6.15
3.92
36%
53%
34%
12.63
-5%
11.42
10.68
6%
10.58
9.90
6%
11.09
12.51
-13%
15.25
8.50
44%
1Q04 Average
705-508
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
Samsung Electronics
Exhibit 4
705-508
DRAM Production Volume by Density in 2003
Production Volume (million unit, 256Mbit equiv.)
Samsung
4Mbit
16Mbit
64Mbit
128Mbit
256Mbit
512Mbit
1Gbit
Total
-1.3
16.4
151.6
695.8
30.4
1.0
896.4
Micron
-0.1%
1.8%
16.9%
77.6%
3.4%
0.1%
100.0%
-1.0
29.7
88.1
540.1
13.7
0.1
672.8
Infineon
-0.2%
4.4%
13.1%
80.3%
2.0%
0.0%
100.0%
-0.0
0.0
43.7
479.5
11.5
0.6
535.3
Hynix
-0.0%
0.0%
8.2%
89.6%
2.1%
0.1%
100.0%
-10.0
33.6
96.8
374.2
6.8
0.0
521.5
SMIC
-1.9%
6.4%
18.6%
71.8%
1.3%
0.0%
100.0%
68.2
68.2
100.0%
100.0%
Source: “DRAM Supply and Demand Quarterly Statistics: Worldwide, 2003-2005,” Gartner, Inc. As the research is over 12
months old, Gartner deems it to be a historical perspective.
Exhibit 5
DRAM Production Volume by Product Line in 2003 (million, 256 Mbit equivalent)
Production Volume (million unit, 256Mbit equiv.)
Samsung
SDRAM
DDR SDRAM
DDR2 SDRAM
RDRAM
Other DRAM
Total
206.1
585.3
40.4
37.9
25.9
896.4
23.0%
65.3%
4.5%
4.2%
2.9%
100%
Micron
191.8
475.6
0.0
0.0
5.4
672.8
28.5%
70.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.8%
100%
Infineon
79.1
437.8
1.7
2.4
14.3
535.3
14.8%
81.8%
0.3%
0.4%
2.7%
100%
Hynix
117.5
401.4
0.0
0.0
1.3
521.5
Worldwide
22.5%
77.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
100%
0.0
68.2
0.0
0.0
0.0
68.2
0.0%
100.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
100%
Source: “DRAM Supply and Demand Quarterly Statistics: Worldwide, 2003-2005,” Gartner, Inc. As the research is over 12
months old, Gartner deems it to be a historical perspective.
15
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
2001
1.06
1.34
1.88
1.88
2.99
6.73
150.00
0.22
7.08
-77.6%
2002
1.10
1.28
1.61
1.55
3.30
6.22
42.11
0.21
6.76
-4.5%
2003
0.97
1.19
1.88
2.75
4.68
21.70
83.57
0.16
5.19
-23.3%
2004
0.79
0.90
2.13
3.48
4.88
12.76
40.76
0.17
5.49
5.8%
672.8
-$1,129.5
$4.93
$6.61
1.93
0.94
1.88
0.57
1.28
-$1.68
-34.1%
Micron
535.3
$12.9
$5.05
$5.02
1.58
0.76
1.50
0.71
0.46
$0.02
0.5%
Infineon
521.5
-$188.1
$4.97
$5.33
1.93
0.51
1.48
0.58
0.83
-$0.36
-7.3%
Hynix
68.2
-$28.1
$4.43
$4.84
1.84
0.23
1.63
0.80
0.34
-$0.41
-9.3%
SMIC
2006(E)
0.40
0.50
0.74
1.28
1.64
3.12
7.29
21.29
0.05
1.65
-55.1%
2007(E)
0.50
0.70
1.01
1.21
2.79
5.54
11.70
125.15
0.04
1.42
-13.7%
2008(E)
0.62
0.90
1.10
2.53
4.81
9.68
47.00
0.04
1.28
-9.9%
2009(E)
0.66
0.84
1.78
2.22
3.99
13.02
0.02
0.58
-54.4%
2010(E)
0.68
1.25
1.55
3.08
7.50
93.18
0.01
0.42
-28.3%
$4.96
$5.70
1.83
0.74
1.64
0.62
0.87
-$0.74
-15.0%
$0.72
-$1.39
-0.65
-0.19
-0.29
-0.02
-0.22
87.3%
132.2%
155.1%
137.0%
121.5%
103.3%
133.8%
Competitors'
Samsung -Competitors' Competitors' Weighted
Weighted Average
Weighted Average
Average/Samsung
2005(E)
0.51
0.62
1.39
2.41
3.67
6.75
18.04
82.93
0.11
3.66
-33.3%
-16-
bTotal production volume is the sum of DRAM production volumes across all density levels (including 16Mb, 64Mb, 128Mb, 256Mb, 512Mb, and 1Gb).
aExplanation of “256Mbit equivalent” term used above: Each company in the industry uses a slightly different design rule and process technology for each product, along with producing a different
mixture of architectures and memory sizes. So that makes it very difficult to do an apples-to-apples comparison for even the same exact product. Therefore the industry analysts have settled on a
common approach for comparing the overall cost competitiveness of a company. The company’s total sales and production costs are weighted by memory generation, with the 256Mbit generation given a
weight of 1.00, the generations above 256Mbit given a weighting above 1.00 that is proportional to 256Mbit, and the generations below 256Mbit given a weighting below 1.00 that is proportional to
256Mbit.
896.4
$1,224.3
$5.68
$4.31
1.18
0.54
1.35
0.60
0.65
$1.37
24.1%
Samsung
Comparison of Operating Profit of DRAM in 2003 (256Mbit equivalenta)
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit (a)
Operating Margin
Production Volume in 256Mbit equiv. (b)
(millions)
Operating Profit in $Million (a x b)
Exhibit 7a
Source: “Forecast: DRAM Market Statistics, Worldwide, 2000-2010 (1Q05 Update),” Gartner, Inc.
2000
1.51
1.90
3.42
7.18
14.41
48.59
0.99
31.63
-17.3%
Worldwide DRAM Average Selling Price History and Forecast, 2000-2010 (Dollars)
1Mbit
4Mbit
16Mbit
64Mbit
128Mbit
256Mbit
512Mbit
1Gbit
2Gbit
4Gbit
8Gbit
ASP per Megabyte
ASP per 256Mbit Equiv.
Annual ASP growth
Exhibit 6
705-508
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
Samsung Electronics
Exhibit 7b
Cost Breakdown of 64Mbit DRAM in 2003 (256Mbit equivalent)
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/
Total Production
Volume
Exhibit 7c
705-508
Samsung
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
SMIC
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
$8.63
$2.99
0.99
0.54
0.35
0.15
0.96
$5.64
65.4%
$7.88
$4.19
0.98
0.76
0.42
0.13
1.90
$3.69
46.9%
-
$8.10
$3.98
1.67
0.51
0.43
0.17
1.20
$4.13
50.9%
-
$8.00
$4.07
1.35
0.63
0.42
0.15
1.53
$3.92
49.0%
16.4
29.7
0.0
33.6
0.0
63.3
1.8%
4.4%
0.0%
6.4%
0.0%
3.5%
Cost Breakdown of 128Mbit DRAM in 2003 (256Mbit equivalent)
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/
Total Production
Volume
Samsung
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
SMIC
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
$6.45
$3.89
1.09
0.54
1.09
0.48
0.70
$2.56
39.6%
$5.56
$6.22
1.81
0.94
1.60
0.48
1.39
-$0.66
-11.9%
$6.34
$4.49
1.43
0.75
1.21
0.57
0.52
$1.85
29.2%
$5.45
$5.08
1.83
0.51
1.33
0.52
0.88
$0.37
6.8%
-
$5.66
$5.40
1.75
0.72
1.41
0.52
1.01
$0.25
3.9%
43.7
96.8
0.0
18.6%
0.0%
151.6
16.9%
88.1
13.1%
8.2%
228.6
12.7%
a128Mbit DRAM production volume includes production volumes of various 128Mbit DRAM product lines (such as SDRAM,
DDR, DDR2, and Rambus DRAM).
17
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
705-508
Exhibit 7d
Samsung Electronics
Cost Breakdown of 256Mbit DRAM in 2003 (256Mbit equivalent)
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/
Total Production
Volume
Samsung
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
SMIC
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
$5.08
$4.15
1.19
0.54
1.27
0.56
0.59
$0.94
18.4%
$4.48
$6.52
1.98
0.94
1.86
0.56
1.18
-$2.04
-45.5%
$4.73
$4.84
1.57
0.75
1.41
0.67
0.44
-$0.11
-2.2%
$4.58
$5.42
2.01
0.51
1.56
0.61
0.74
-$0.85
-18.5%
$4.43
$4.84
1.84
0.23
1.63
0.80
0.34
-$0.41
-9.3%
$4.57
$5.61
1.84
0.74
1.63
0.62
0.79
-$1.04
-22.8%
540.1
479.5
374.2
695.8
77.6%
80.3%
89.6%
71.8%
68.2
100.0%
1462.1
81.3%
a256Mbit DRAM production volume includes production volumes of various 256Mbit DRAM product lines (such as SDRAM,
DDR, DDR2, and Rambus DRAM).
Exhibit 7e
Cost Breakdown of 512Mbit DRAM in 2003 (256Mbit equivalent)
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/
Total Production
Volume
Samsung
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
SMIC
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
$14.21
$10.52
1.29
0.80
4.89
2.16
1.38
$3.69
26.0%
$12.11
$17.58
3.17
1.52
7.78
2.36
2.75
-$5.47
-45.1%
$13.60
$13.26
2.47
1.20
5.82
2.74
1.02
$0.34
2.5%
$11.99
$13.81
2.97
0.77
6.00
2.34
1.73
-$1.82
-15.2%
-
$12.62
$15.22
2.87
1.25
6.70
2.49
1.91
-$2.60
-21.6%
30.4
13.7
11.5
6.8
0.0
1.3%
0.0%
3.4%
2.0%
2.1%
32.0
1.8%
18
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
Samsung Electronics
Exhibit 7f
Cost Breakdown of 256Mbit SDRAM in 2003
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/
Total Production
Volume
Exhibit 7g
705-508
SMIC
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
Samsung
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
$4.95
$4.16
1.20
0.54
1.28
0.57
0.58
$0.79
15.9%
$4.56
$6.62
2.01
0.95
1.89
0.57
1.21
-$2.06
-45.2%
$5.00
$4.97
1.61
0.77
1.45
0.68
0.46
$0.03
0.5%
$4.58
$5.54
2.05
0.52
1.59
0.62
0.74
-$0.95
-20.8%
-
$4.67
$5.95
1.92
0.80
1.71
0.61
0.91
-$1.28
-28.0%
160.0
162.0
76.7
84.2
0.0
323.0
17.9%
24.1%
14.3%
16.1%
0.0%
18.0%
Cost Breakdown of 256Mbit DDR SDRAM in 2003
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/
Total Production
Volume
Samsung
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
SMIC
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
$4.72
$4.06
1.18
0.53
1.25
0.55
0.55
$0.66
13.9%
$4.45
$6.48
1.97
0.93
1.85
0.56
1.17
-$2.03
-45.6%
$4.65
$4.81
1.56
0.75
1.41
0.66
0.43
-$0.16
-3.4%
$4.57
$5.39
1.99
0.51
1.55
0.60
0.74
-$0.82
-18.0%
$4.43
$4.84
1.84
0.23
1.63
0.80
0.34
-$0.41
-9.3%
$4.55
$5.51
1.82
0.72
1.60
0.62
0.75
-$0.96
-21.2%
485.0
378.1
399.7
290.0
68.2
1136.0
54.1%
56.2%
74.7%
55.6%
100.0%
63.2%
19
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
705-508
Exhibit 7h
Samsung Electronics
Cost Breakdown of 256Mbit DDR2 SDRAM in 2003
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/
Total Production
Volume
Exhibit 7i
Samsung
Micron
$8.83
$4.93
1.31
0.59
1.39
0.62
1.03
$3.90
44.1%
-
25.7
0.0
0.0%
2.9%
Hynix
SMIC
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
-
-
$8.67
$5.72
1.75
0.84
1.58
0.74
0.80
$2.95
34.0%
1.2
0.0
0.0
1.2
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
Infineon
$8.67
$5.72
1.75
0.84
1.58
0.74
0.80
$2.95
34.0%
Cost Breakdown of 256Mbit Rambus DRAM in 2003
Samsung
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/
Total Production
Volume
Micron
Infineon
-
-
$8.45
$5.59
1.71
0.82
1.55
0.73
0.78
$2.86
33.8%
Hynix
$9.21
$4.89
1.28
0.57
1.36
0.60
1.07
$4.32
46.9%
-
25.0
0.0
1.7
0.0
0.0
1.7
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
2.8%
$8.45
$5.59
1.71
0.82
1.55
0.73
0.78
$2.86
33.8%
SMIC
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
20
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
Samsung Electronics
Exhibit 7j
Cost Breakdown of 128Mbit DDR2 SDRAM in 2003 (256Mbit equivalent)
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/
Total Production
Volume
Exhibit 7k
705-508
Samsung
Micron
$11.30
$4.49
1.13
0.55
1.12
0.50
1.19
$6.81
60.3%
-
$9.74
$5.27
1.58
0.83
1.34
0.63
0.89
$4.47
45.9%
Hynix
SMIC
-
-
$9.74
$5.27
1.58
0.83
1.34
0.63
0.89
$4.47
45.9%
7.1
0.0
0.4
0.0
0.0
0.4
0.79%
0.00%
0.08%
0.00%
0.00%
0.08%
Cost Breakdown of 128Mbit Rambus DRAM in 2003 (256Mbit equivalent)
Samsung
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/
Total Production
Volume
Source:
Infineon
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
$11.06
$4.65
1.19
0.58
1.18
0.52
1.17
$6.41
58.0%
Micron
-
Infineon
$9.64
$5.26
1.58
0.83
1.34
0.63
0.88
$4.38
45.5%
SMIC
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
-
-
$9.64
$5.26
1.58
0.83
1.34
0.63
0.88
$4.38
45.5%
Hynix
5.5
0.0
0.5
0.0
0.0
0.5
0.61%
0.00%
0.10%
0.00%
0.00%
0.10%
Casewriters’ estimates based on Merrill Lynch report.
21
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
705-508
Samsung Electronics
Exhibit 8
Samsung's Manufacturing Line Sharing (Line A)
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
78%
19%
3%
0%
0%
45%
13%
41%
2%
0%
28%
3%
52%
15%
2%
40%
2%
46%
8%
5%
27%
0%
44%
24%
5%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
DRAM
Graphic
SRAM
Flash
MROM
Total
Source:
Company data.
Exhibit 9
Cost Breakdown of NAND Flash (512Mbit equivalent, 1Q 2004)
Toshiba (a)
Average Selling Price ($)
Fully loaded cost
Raw materials
Labour
Utilities
SG&A
Depreciation
R&D
Others
Operating Profit
Source:
9.51
4.55
1.15
0.74
0.13
0.28
1.10
0.51
0.63
4.97
Samsung (b)
(a)/(b)
Toshiba
Samsung
9.48
3.28
0.79
0.45
0.10
0.24
1.19
0.30
0.22
6.20
100.3%
138.5%
144.8%
165.3%
138.5%
119.3%
92.8%
170.9%
281.4%
80.1%
100.0%
25.2%
16.3%
2.9%
6.2%
24.2%
11.3%
13.9%
100.0%
24.1%
13.6%
2.9%
7.2%
36.1%
9.1%
6.9%
Merrill Lynch.
22
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
Samsung Electronics
Exhibit 10a
705-508
Comparison of 8-inch Wafer vs. 12-inch Wafer
8-inch Wafer
12-inch Wafer
257
87%
224
616
87%
536
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Net Die per Wafera
Assumed Yield Rate
Good Die per Wafer
Production Cost per Wafer
Depreciation per Wafer
Material Cost per Wafer
Cost per Chip
Source:
12-inch Wafer/
8-inch Wafer
240%
100%
240%
210%
200%
270%
90%
Company data and casewriters’ estimates.
aNet Dice per Wafer is based on 0.13μm process technology.
Exhibit 10b
Process Technology, Wafer Size, and Net Dice Output
Process Technology (Design Rule)
Chip Size
Number of Net Die out of 8-inch Wafer
Number of Net Die out of 12-inch Wafer
0.25μm
0.18μm
0.15μm
0.13μm
0.11μm
208.9 ㎟
100
240
159.4 ㎟
137
329
120.9 ㎟
188
451
91.3 ㎟
257
616
68.6 ㎟
352
845
Source: Casewriters’ estimates.
aDesign rule is the minimum feature width of the chip, which indicates the level of process technology.
Exhibit 10c
Comparison of Production by Wafer Size, Design Rule, and Yield Rate
Production Volume by Wafer Size
8-inch
12-inch
Total
Wafer
Wafer
Samsung
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
88%
97%
67%
100%
12%
3%
33%
0%
Process Technology
Main Design
% of
Rule (μm)
Usage
100%
100%
100%
100%
0.11
0.13
0.14
0.13
67%
80%
80%
72%
Yield Ratea
80%
60%
67%
50%
Source: Casewriters’ estimates based on Gartner, Inc. report (February 2004).
aYield rate is based on 0.11μm process technology for 256Mbit.
23
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
705-508
Samsung Electronics
Exhibit 11
China's Chip Production Capacity Breakdown (2001)
By Technology
By Wafer Size
0.25 m icron
to m ore than
0.18 m icron
23%
0.5 m icron
and above
65%
150m m
19%
100m m a n d
a b o ve
38%
0.5 m icron to
m ore than
0.25 m icron
12%
200m m
23%
125m m
20%
Source:
Friedrich Wu and Chua Boon Loy, “Rapid Rise of China’s Semiconductor Industry: What Are the Implications for
Singapore?” Thunderbird International Business Review 46 (2004): 109-131.
24
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
Samsung Electronics
705-508
Endnotes
1
Information on Chairman Lee’s office comes from Kim Sung-Hong and Woo In-Ho, Lee Kun Hee’s 10 Year
Reform (Seoul: Kimyoungsa, 2003).
2
“Samsung’s Second New Management Vision,” Monthly Chosun, July 2003.
3
Oliver Wojahn, “Semiconductors: A Silver Lining on the Horizon,” Berenberg Bank, August 27, 2001, p. 5.
4
Casewriters’ estimate.
5
“Korean Semiconductor Industry,” Samsung Internal Document, 2004, p. 7.
6
“Samsung Electronics; To Be Better than the Best,” a report written by J.J. Park and Seung-Hoon Lee, J.P.
Morgan Securities (Far East) Ltd., February 2004, p. 13.
7 “Korean Chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor Admits Price Fixing” published by the Associated Press, April
25, 2005.
8 Information for this paragraph comes from James Hines and Kay-Yang Tan, “Foundries in China Gearing
Up for Rapid Expansion,” Gartner Dataquest Research Brief, January 27, 2004.
9
Kay-Yang Tan, “Market Focus; China’s Foundry Industry Gaining Strength,” Gartner Dataquest Focus
Report, July 22, 2004, p. 3.
10
Ibid.
11 Friedrich Wu and Chua Boon Loy, “Rapid Rise of China’s Semiconductor Industry: What Are the
Implications for Singapore?” Thunderbird International Business Review 46 (2004): 109-131.
12
Samsung, Semiconductor Stories Series #42: June 15, 2004, Samsung Electronics [Korea] Web site,
http://www.sec.co.kr/index.jsp.
13
“Samsung Rising: Why Is Samsung Strong?” published by Korea Economic Daily newspaper, 2002, p. 35.
14
“Samsung Rising: Why Is Samsung Strong?” p. 67.
15
“Korean Semiconductor Industry,” Samsung Internal Document, 2004, p. 21.
16
“Korean Semiconductor Industry,” p. 19.
17 Samsung,
Semiconductor Stories Series #43: July 20, 2004, http://www.sec.co.kr/index.jsp.
18 ”Just Being a Good Company is Not Enough” Maeil Business Newspaper, June 2, 2005, A13.,
http://www.mk.co.kr/
19
“Korean Semiconductor Industry,” p. 20.
20
Ibid.
21
Linsu Kim, “The Dynamics of Samsung’s Technological Learning in Semiconductors,” California
Management Review 39: 3 (1997): 86-100.
22
“Samsung Rising: Why Is Samsung Strong?” p. 74.
23
Samsung, Semiconductor Stories Series #7: June 2, 2003, http://www.sec.co.kr/index.jsp.
24
“Korean Semiconductor Industry,” p. 29.
25
Samsung, Semiconductor Stories Series #3: May 5, 2003, http://www.sec.co.kr/index.jsp.
26
Richard Gordon and Andrew Norwood, “Worldwide Memory Forecast, 1Q04 Update,” Gartner Dataquest
report, February 2004.
25
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of J. Camp, 2019.
705-508
27
“Korean Semiconductor Industry,” p. 42.
28
Ibid., p. 50.
29
“Samsung Rising: Why Is Samsung Strong?” p. 69.
Samsung Electronics
30 Kun Hee Lee, Samsung’s New Management (Seoul: Office of the Executive Staff of the Samsung Group,
Second Revised Edition, 1997), p. 69.
31
“Samsung Rising: Why is Samsung Strong?” p. 182.
32 Business Week, June 16, 2003, p. 64. In the second sentence of the quotation, the wording was clarified by
Samsung Electronics in an e-mail to the casewriters on June 22, 2005.
33
Kun Hee Lee, Samsung’s New Management, p. 57.
34
Friedrich Wu and Chua Boon Loy, “Rapid Rise of China’s Semiconductor Industry: What Are the
Implications for Singapore?”
35
Ibid.
36 Dorothy Lai, “2004: A Turning Point for China’s Semiconductor Industry,” Nikkei Electronics Asia,
December 2003, http://neasia.nikkeibp.com/nea/200312/srep_278997.html.
26
This document is authorized for use only by Jalen Camp in GT Integrated Strat taught by Anne Fuller, Georgia Institute of Technology from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
Samsung Electronics
Harvard Business School Case #705-508
Case Software #XLS-318
Copyright © 2011 President and Fellows of Harvard College. No part of this product may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business
School.
Exhibit 1 Financial Results (USD, millions)
Samsung*
Net Revenues
Cost of Goods Sold
R&D
Net Income
Cashflow from Operation
Cash & Equivalents(a)
Long&Short-term Debt(b)
Net Debt (b-a)
Interest Expense/Debt
Total Assets
Micron
Net Revenues
Cost of Goods Sold
R&D
Net Income
Cashflow from Operation
Cash & Equialents(a)
Long&Short-term Debt(b)
Net Debt (b-a)
Interest Expense/Debt
Total Assets
Infineon
Net Revenues
Cost of Goods Sold
R&D
Net Income
Cashflow from Operation
Cash & Equivalents(a)
Long&Short-term Debt(b)
Net Debt (b-a)
Interest Expense/Debt
Total Equity
Total Assets
Hynix
Net Revenues
Cost of Goods Sold
R&D
Net Income
Cashflow from Operation
Cash & Equivalents(a)
Long&Short-term Debt(b)
Net Debt (b-a)
Interest Expense/Debt
Total Equity
Total Assets
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
1903
1652
11
24
75
49
435
386
48
748
2271
1954
14
37
116
45
467
422
51
991
3006
2586
22
44
143
103
598
495
61
1383
4427
3735
38
149
371
199
1786
1587
89
3370
5896
4550
136
233
1115
80
2019
1940
194
4334
6298
4836
231
102
1074
149
3086
2938
302
5731
6871
4997
371
90
947
222
4034
3812
414
7568
7741
5634
443
92
1177
355
4758
4402
445
8102
10091
6874
678
191
2050
539
4040
3501
433
8296
14604
9150
1392
1198
3925
1149
4658
3509
394
11314
20898
12112
1454
3234
6069
1509
6054
4546
482
17589
18804
14123
1512
194
1978
1141
9276
8135
480
19680
13048
8975
896
87
1967
966
9171
8205
536
24251
16629
11571
1378
259
4426
983
8461
7477
924
14852
22802
15419
1390
2768
6179
1026
5016
3990
630
20774
27216
17459
1603
4775
7506
1534
3224
1690
273
23788
24418
18486
1824
2222
4744
2129
2040
-89
155
21629
33167
21910
2451
5875
9325
4734
1355
-3379
84
27437
36385
24644
2947
4975
8222
6667
968
-5699
80
32892
76
46
7
0
18
1
36
34
2
133
49
43
3
-34
-13
5
44
39
0
132
91
69
5
-23
-1
9
45
35
5
129
301
100
9
98
142
164
24
-141
1
388
446
192
21
106
165
161
51
-110
-15
625
333
178
36
5
84
77
99
22
11
697
425
242
36
5
98
68
93
26
11
706
506
285
48
7
121
73
89
16
9
724
828
378
57
104
231
186
80
-106
8
966
1629
608
83
401
611
433
155
-279
8
1530
2953
1130
129
844
1092
556
156
-400
7
2775
3654
1835
192
594
1055
287
480
193
9
3752
3516
2078
209
332
990
988
889
-99
31
4851
3012
2125
272
-234
242
649
865
215
65
4688
3764
2107
322
-69
827
1614
1639
26
132
6965
7336
2963
428
1548
2629
2466
982
-1485
111
9632
3936
1984
490
-521
1578
1678
531
-1147
27
8363
2589
1146
561
-907
698
986
454
-532
27
7431
3091
1895
656
-1280
447
922
1086
164
40
7075
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2885
1623
457
-95
615
340
1139
799
22
3205
4402
3175
2149
637
-775
-232
906
1253
347
94
3078
4471
4208
2421
733
60
613
878
996
118
22
3861
6088
7757
3492
1092
1199
2077
1074
284
-791
0
6368
9254
6371
4245
1336
-663
287
955
414
-541
1
8093
10483
4966
3085
1011
-974
73
1847
1745
-102
24
7735
9662
4884
2522
864
-345
757
2185
1978
-207
41
6539
8018
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4537
2721
0
-474
966
346
6045
5699
411
1449
9910
6201
3959
21
-599
1192
611
13775
13165
651
-1662
14768
6288
4739
29
-129
338
578
8966
8388
941
1096
11742
8035
6584
68
167
1607
811
10379
9568
1055
9204
20911
9489
4648
254
-2280
2788
280
10545
10265
1222
7097
18217
4097
3011
264
-3844
-69
452
4910
4458
846
7892
11165
3739
2015
338
-1560
933
255
3414
3159
434
24813
8891
4030
2272
296
-1770
1171
529
3231
2702
253
4267
7218
Source: Thomson Datastream.
Note: Hyundai Semiconductor went public in December 1996. It acquired LG Semiconductor in 1999 and changed its name to Hynix. Micron was incorporated in 1978. Infineon was founded in April 1999, when the semiconductor operations of parent company Siemens AG were spun off to form a
separate legal entity. In March 2000, the company went public and is now listed on the Stock Exchanges of Frankfurt and New York. For 1985 to 1998, Siemens AG data were used.
*Parent only
Exhibit 3 DRAM Average Selling Price (ASP), Operating Cost, and Operating Margin (256Mbit equivalent)
1Q00
Samsung
Average Selling Price($)
Operating Cost($)
Operating Margin
Micron
Average Selling Price($)
Operating Cost($)
Operating Margin
Infineon
Average Selling Price($)
Operating Cost($)
Operating Margin
Hynix
Average Selling Price($)
Operating Cost($)
Operating Margin
Worldwide
Average Selling Price($)
ASP Quarterly Change
Price Premium of Samsung
ASP over Competitors' ASP
Operating Margin of (Samsung
- Competitors' Average)
Source: Merrill Lynch.
2Q00
3Q00
4Q00
1Q01
2Q01
3Q01
4Q01
1Q02
2Q02
3Q02
4Q02
1Q03
2Q03
3Q03
4Q03
1Q04
Average
39.08
16.95
57%
38.44
13.64
65%
43.79
14.41
67%
33.42
15.70
53%
20.82
12.36
41%
13.24
12.02
9%
4.86
9.53
-96%
5.16
7.46
-45%
9.31
5.72
39%
7.75
5.33
31%
6.86
4.92
28%
7.58
5.33
30%
5.76
4.77
17%
5.27
4.60
13%
5.79
4.00
31%
5.90
3.82
35%
6.15
3.92
36%
15.25
8.50
44%
32.49
34.75
-7%
25.13
24.00
4%
30.83
20.31
34%
25.65
19.65
23%
12.59
15.81
-26%
8.30
15.96
-92%
3.76
12.01
-219%
2.85
6.67
-134%
5.01
8.28
-65%
7.48
8.98
-20%
5.25
7.97
-52%
4.99
7.25
-45%
5.10
7.96
-56%
4.33
6.65
-53%
4.97
6.06
-22%
5.32
5.57
-5%
4.51
4.75
-5%
11.09
12.51
-13%
26.62
18.11
32%
26.5
16.69
37%
30.93
10.88
65%
16.01
14.14
12%
10.58
13.46
-27%
7.98
13.76
-73%
4.20
12.00
-186%
4.38
11.00
-151%
8.90
9.80
-10%
7.20
8.20
-14%
5.50
7.50
-36%
5.90
7.96
-35%
4.89
5.62
-15%
4.69
5.10
-9%
5.41
4.69
13%
5.21
4.69
10%
4.95
4.75
4%
10.58
9.90
6%
28.72
22.21
23%
29.83
24.68
17%
37.76
23.94
37%
20.95
17.40
17%
12.42
11.82
5%
7.35
8.73
-19%
3.86
9.33
-142%
3.73
9.38
-152%
8.56
6.08
29%
6.30
9.15
-45%
4.71
7.47
-59%
4.92
6.56
-33%
4.57
6.16
-35%
4.50
5.61
-24%
5.46
4.82
12%
5.36
4.37
18%
5.16
3.89
25%
11.42
10.68
6%
36
33.8
-6%
36.5
8%
22.9
-37%
14.30
-37%
9.02
-37%
4.8
-47%
3.49
-27%
8.58
146%
7.36
-14%
6.21
-16%
6.14
-1%
5.12
-17%
4.62
-10%
5.47
19%
5.37
-2%
5.06
-6%
12.63
-5%
33%
42%
32%
60%
75%
68%
23%
41%
24%
11%
33%
44%
19%
17%
10%
11%
26%
34%
41%
45%
22%
36%
57%
70%
86%
101%
54%
57%
77%
68%
53%
42%
30%
27%
28%
53%
Exhibit 4 DRAM Production Volume by Density in 2003
Samsung
4Mbit
16Mbit
64Mbit
128Mbit
256Mbit
512Mbit
1Gbit
Total
-1.3
16.4
151.6
695.8
30.4
1.0
896.4
-0.1%
1.8%
16.9%
77.6%
3.4%
0.1%
100.0%
Production Volume (million unit, 256Mbit equiv.)
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
-1.0
29.7
88.1
540.1
13.7
0.1
672.8
-0.2%
4.4%
13.1%
80.3%
2.0%
0.0%
100.0%
-0.0
0.0
43.7
479.5
11.5
0.6
535.3
-0.0%
0.0%
8.2%
89.6%
2.1%
0.1%
100.0%
-10.0
33.6
96.8
374.2
6.8
0.0
521.5
-1.9%
6.4%
18.6%
71.8% 68.2
1.3%
0.0%
100.0% 68.2
SMIC
100.0%
100.0%
Source: "DRAM Supply and Demand Quarterly Statistics: Worldwide, 2003-2005," Gartner, Inc. As the research is over 12 months
old, Gartner deems it to be a historical perspective.
Exhibit 5 DRAM Production Volume by Product Line in 2003 (million, 256 Mbit equivalent)
Samsung
SDRAM
DDR SDRAM
DDR2 SDRAM
RDRAM
Other DRAM
Total
206.1
585.3
40.4
37.9
25.9
896.4
23.0%
65.3%
4.5%
4.2%
2.9%
100%
Production Volume (million unit, 256Mbit equiv.)
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
Worldwide
191.8
475.6
0.0
0.0
5.4
672.8
0.0
68.2
0.0
0.0
0.0
68.2
28.5%
70.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.8%
100%
79.1
437.8
1.7
2.4
14.3
535.3
14.8%
81.8%
0.3%
0.4%
2.7%
100%
117.5
401.4
0.0
0.0
1.3
521.5
22.5%
77.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
100%
0.0%
100.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
100%
Source: "DRAM Supply and Demand Quarterly Statistics: Worldwide, 2003-2005," Gartner, Inc. As the research is over 12 months old,
Gartner deems it to be a historical perspective.
Exhibit 6 Worldwide DRAM Average Selling Price History and Forecast, 2000-2010 (Dollars)
1Mbit
4Mbit
16Mbit
64Mbit
128Mbit
256Mbit
512Mbit
1Gbit
2Gbit
4Gbit
8Gbit
ASP per Megabyte
ASP per 256Mbit Equiv.
Annual ASP growth
2000
1.51
1.90
3.42
7.18
14.41
48.59
0.99
31.63
-17.3%
2001
1.06
1.34
1.88
1.88
2.99
6.73
150.00
0.22
7.08
-77.6%
2002
1.10
1.28
1.61
1.55
3.30
6.22
42.11
0.21
6.76
-4.5%
2003
0.97
1.19
1.88
2.75
4.68
21.70
83.57
0.16
5.19
-23.3%
Source: "Forecast: DRAM Market Statistics, Worldwide, 2000-2010 (1Q05 Update)," Gartner, Inc.
2004
0.79
0.90
2.13
3.48
4.88
12.76
40.76
0.17
5.49
5.8%
2005(E)
0.51
0.62
1.39
2.41
3.67
6.75
18.04
82.93
0.11
3.66
-33.3%
2006(E)
0.40
0.50
0.74
1.28
1.64
3.12
7.29
21.29
0.05
1.65
-55.1%
2007(E)
0.50
0.70
1.01
1.21
2.79
5.54
11.70
125.15
0.04
1.42
-13.7%
2008(E)
0.62
0.90
1.10
2.53
4.81
9.68
47.00
0.04
1.28
-9.9%
2009(E)
0.66
0.84
1.78
2.22
3.99
13.02
0.02
0.58
-54.4%
2010(E)
0.68
1.25
1.55
3.08
7.50
93.18
0.01
0.42
-28.3%
Exhibit 7a Comparison of Operating Profit of DRAM in 2003 (256Mbit equivalenta)
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit (a)
Operating Margin
Production Volume in 256Mbit equiv. (b)
(millions)
Operating Profit in $Million (a × b)
Samsung
$5.68
$4.31
1.18
0.54
1.35
0.60
0.65
$1.37
24.1%
Micron
$4.93
$6.61
1.93
0.94
1.88
0.57
1.28
-$1.68
-34.1%
Infineon
$5.05
$5.02
1.58
0.76
1.50
0.71
0.46
$0.02
0.5%
Hynix
$4.97
$5.33
1.93
0.51
1.48
0.58
0.83
-$0.36
-7.3%
SMIC
$4.43
$4.84
1.84
0.23
1.63
0.80
0.34
-$0.41
-9.3%
896.4
$1,224.3
672.8
-$1,129.5
535.3
$12.9
521.5
-$188.1
68.2
-$28.1
Competitors'
Weighted Average
$4.96
$5.70
1.83
0.74
1.64
0.62
0.87
-$0.74
-15.0%
a
Samsung -Competitors'
Weighted Average
$0.72
-$1.39
-0.65
-0.19
-0.29
-0.02
-0.22
Competitors' Weighted
Average/Samsung
87.3%
132.2%
155.1%
137.0%
121.5%
103.3%
133.8%
Explanation of "256Mbit equivalent" term used above: Each company in the industry uses a slightly different design rule and process technology for each product, along with producing a different mixture of architectures and memory sizes. So
that makes it very difficult to do an apples-to-apples comparison for even the same exact product. Therefore the industry analysts have settled on a common approach for comparing the overall cost competitiveness of a company. The
company's total sales and production costs are weighted by memory generation, with the 256Mbit generation given a weight of 1.00, the generations above 256Mbit given a weighting above 1.00 that is proportional to 256Mbit, and the
generations below 256Mbit given a weighting below 1.00 that is proportional to 256Mbit.
b
Total production volume is the sum of DRAM production volumes across all density levels (including 16Mb, 64Mb, 128Mb, 256Mb, 512Mb, and 1Gb).
Exhibit 7b Cost Breakdown of 64Mbit DRAM in 2003 (256Mbit equivalent)
Samsung
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/Total
Production Volume
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
Competitors'
Weighted Average
SMIC
$8.63
$2.99
0.99
0.54
0.35
0.15
0.96
$5.64
65.4%
$7.88
$4.19
0.98
0.76
0.42
0.13
1.90
$3.69
46.9%
-
$8.10
$3.98
1.67
0.51
0.43
0.17
1.20
$4.13
50.9%
-
$8.00
$4.07
1.35
0.63
0.42
0.15
1.53
$3.92
49.0%
16.4
29.7
0.0
33.6
0.0
63.3
1.8%
4.4%
0.0%
6.4%
0.0%
3.5%
Exhibit 7c Cost Breakdown of 128Mbit DRAM in 2003 (256Mbit equivalent)
Samsung
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/Total
Production Volume
a
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
SMIC
$6.45
$3.89
1.09
0.54
1.09
0.48
0.70
$2.56
39.6%
$5.56
$6.22
1.81
0.94
1.60
0.48
1.39
-$0.66
-11.9%
$6.34
$4.49
1.43
0.75
1.21
0.57
0.52
$1.85
29.2%
$5.45
$5.08
1.83
0.51
1.33
0.52
0.88
$0.37
6.8%
-
$5.66
$5.40
1.75
0.72
1.41
0.52
1.01
$0.25
3.9%
151.6
88.1
43.7
96.8
0.0
228.6
16.9%
13.1%
8.2%
18.6%
0.0%
12.7%
-
128Mbit DRAM production volume includes production volumes of various 128Mbit DRAM product lines (such as SDRAM, DDR,
DDR2, and Rambus DRAM).
Exhibit 7d Cost Breakdown of 256Mbit DRAM in 2003 (256Mbit equivalent)
Samsung
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/Total
Production Volume
a
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
SMIC
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
$5.08
$4.15
1.19
0.54
1.27
0.56
0.59
$0.94
18.4%
$4.48
$6.52
1.98
0.94
1.86
0.56
1.18
-$2.04
-45.5%
$4.73
$4.84
1.57
0.75
1.41
0.67
0.44
-$0.11
-2.2%
$4.58
$5.42
2.01
0.51
1.56
0.61
0.74
-$0.85
-18.5%
$4.43
$4.84
1.84
0.23
1.63
0.80
0.34
-$0.41
-9.3%
$4.57
$5.61
1.84
0.74
1.63
0.62
0.79
-$1.04
-22.8%
695.8
540.1
479.5
374.2
68.2
1462.1
77.6%
80.3%
89.6%
71.8%
100.0%
81.3%
256Mbit DRAM production volume includes production volumes of various 256Mbit DRAM product lines (such as SDRAM,
DDR, DDR2, and Rambus DRAM).
Exhibit 7e Cost Breakdown of 512Mbit DRAM in 2003 (256Mbit equivalent)
Samsung
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/Total
Production Volume
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
SMIC
$14.21
$10.52
1.29
0.80
4.89
2.16
1.38
$3.69
26.0%
$12.11
$17.58
3.17
1.52
7.78
2.36
2.75
-$5.47
-45.1%
$13.60
$13.26
2.47
1.20
5.82
2.74
1.02
$0.34
2.5%
$11.99
$13.81
2.97
0.77
6.00
2.34
1.73
-$1.82
-15.2%
-
$12.62
$15.22
2.87
1.25
6.70
2.49
1.91
-$2.60
-21.6%
30.4
13.7
11.5
6.8
0.0
32.0
3.4%
2.0%
2.1%
1.3%
0.0%
1.8%
-
Exhibit 7f Cost Breakdown of 256Mbit SDRAM in 2003
Samsung
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/Total
Production Volume
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
SMIC
$4.95
$4.16
1.20
0.54
1.28
0.57
0.58
$0.79
15.9%
$4.56
$6.62
2.01
0.95
1.89
0.57
1.21
-$2.06
-45.2%
$5.00
$4.97
1.61
0.77
1.45
0.68
0.46
$0.03
0.5%
$4.58
$5.54
2.05
0.52
1.59
0.62
0.74
-$0.95
-20.8%
-
$4.67
$5.95
1.92
0.80
1.71
0.61
0.91
-$1.28
-28.0%
160.0
162.0
76.7
84.2
0.0
323.0
17.9%
24.1%
14.3%
16.1%
0.0%
18.0%
Exhibit 7g Cost Breakdown of 256Mbit DDR SDRAM in 2003
Samsung
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/Total
Production Volume
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
SMIC
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
$4.72
$4.06
1.18
0.53
1.25
0.55
0.55
$0.66
13.9%
$4.45
$6.48
1.97
0.93
1.85
0.56
1.17
-$2.03
-45.6%
$4.65
$4.81
1.56
0.75
1.41
0.66
0.43
-$0.16
-3.4%
$4.57
$5.39
1.99
0.51
1.55
0.60
0.74
-$0.82
-18.0%
$4.43
$4.84
1.84
0.23
1.63
0.80
0.34
-$0.41
-9.3%
$4.55
$5.51
1.82
0.72
1.60
0.62
0.75
-$0.96
-21.2%
485.0
378.1
399.7
290.0
68.2
1136.0
54.1%
56.2%
74.7%
55.6%
100.0%
63.2%
Exhibit 7h Cost Breakdown of 256Mbit DDR2 SDRAM in 2003
Samsung
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/Total
Production Volume
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
SMIC
$8.83
$4.93
1.31
0.59
1.39
0.62
1.03
$3.90
44.1%
-
$8.67
$5.72
1.75
0.84
1.58
0.74
0.80
$2.95
34.0%
-
-
$8.67
$5.72
1.75
0.84
1.58
0.74
0.80
$2.95
34.0%
25.7
0.0
1.2
0.0
0.0
1.2
2.9%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
Exhibit 7i Cost Breakdown of 256Mbit Rambus DRAM in 2003
Samsung
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/Total
Production Volume
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
SMIC
$9.21
$4.89
1.28
0.57
1.36
0.60
1.07
$4.32
46.9%
-
$8.45
$5.59
1.71
0.82
1.55
0.73
0.78
$2.86
33.8%
-
-
$8.45
$5.59
1.71
0.82
1.55
0.73
0.78
$2.86
33.8%
25.0
0.0
1.7
0.0
0.0
1.7
2.8%
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
Exhibit 7j Cost Breakdown of 128Mbit DDR2 SDRAM in 2003 (256Mbit equivalent)
Samsung
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/Total
Production Volume
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
SMIC
$11.30
$4.49
1.13
0.55
1.12
0.50
1.19
$6.81
60.3%
-
$9.74
$5.27
1.58
0.83
1.34
0.63
0.89
$4.47
45.9%
-
-
$9.74
$5.27
1.58
0.83
1.34
0.63
0.89
$4.47
45.9%
7.1
0.0
0.4
0.0
0.0
0.4
0.79%
0.00%
0.08%
0.00%
0.00%
0.08%
Exhibit 7k Cost Breakdown of 128Mbit Rambus DRAM in 2003 (256Mbit equivalent)
Samsung
Average Selling Price
Fully loaded costs
Raw materials
Labor
Depreciation
R&D
SG&A
Operating Profit
Operating Margin
Production Volume Units
(million)
Production Volume/Total
Production Volume
Micron
$11.06
$4.65
1.19
0.58
1.18
0.52
1.17
$6.41
58.0%
5.5
0.61%
0.0
0.00%
Source: Casewriters' estimates based on Merrill Lynch report.
Infineon
$9.64
$5.26
1.58
0.83
1.34
0.63
0.88
$4.38
45.5%
0.5
0.10%
Hynix
SMIC
-
-
0.0
0.0
0.00%
0.00%
Competitors'
Weighted
Average
$9.64
$5.26
1.58
0.83
1.34
0.63
0.88
$4.38
45.5%
0.5
0.10%
Exhibit 8 Samsung's Manufacturing Line Sharing (Line A)
DRAM
Graphic
SRAM
Flash
MROM
Total
Source: Company data.
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
78%
19%
3%
0%
0%
100%
45%
13%
41%
2%
0%
100%
28%
3%
52%
15%
2%
100%
40%
2%
46%
8%
5%
100%
27%
0%
44%
24%
5%
100%
Exhibit 9 Cost Breakdown of NAND Flash (512Mbit equivalent, 1Q 2004)
Toshiba (a)
Average Selling Price ($)
Fully loaded cost
Raw materials
Labour
Utilities
SG&A
Depreciation
R&D
Others
Operating Profit
Source: Merrill Lynch.
9.51
4.55
1.15
0.74
0.13
0.28
1.10
0.51
0.63
4.97
Samsung (b)
9.48
3.28
0.79
0.45
0.10
0.24
1.19
0.30
0.22
6.20
(a)/(b)
100.3%
138.5%
144.8%
165.3%
138.5%
119.3%
92.8%
170.9%
281.4%
80.1%
Toshiba
100.0%
25.2%
16.3%
2.9%
6.2%
24.2%
11.3%
13.9%
Samsung
100.0%
24.1%
13.6%
2.9%
7.2%
36.1%
9.1%
6.9%
Exhibit 10a Comparison of 8-inch Wafer vs. 12-inch Wafer
a
Net Die per Wafer
Assumed Yield Rate
Good Die per Wafer
Production Cost per Wafer
Depreciation per Wafer
Material Cost per Wafer
Cost per Chip
8-inch Wafer
12-inch Wafer
257
87%
224
616
87%
536
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Source: Company data and casewriters' estimates.
a
Net Dice per Wafer is based on 0.13μm process technology.
12-inch Wafer/ 8inch Wafer
240%
100%
240%
210%
200%
270%
90%
Exhibit 10b Process Technology, Wafer Size, and Net Dice Output
Process Technology (Design Rule)
Chip Size
Number of Net Die out of 8-inch Wafer
Number of Net Die out of 12-inch Wafer
0.25μm
0.18μm
0.15μm
0.13μm
0.11μm
208.9 mm2
100
240
159.4 mm2
137
329
120.9 mm2
188
451
91.3 mm2
257
616
68.6 mm2
352
845
Source: Casewriters' estimates.
a
Design rule is the minimum feature width of the chip, which indicates the level of process technology.
Exhibit 10c Comparison of Production by Wafer Size, Design Rule, and Yield Rate
Production Volume by Wafer Size
8-inch
12-inch
Wafer
Wafer
Total
Samsung
Micron
Infineon
Hynix
88%
97%
67%
100%
12%
3%
33%
0%
100%
100%
100%
100%
Process Technology
Main Design
% of
Rule (μm)
Usage
0.11
0.13
0.14
0.13
Source: Casewriters' estimates based on Gartner, Inc. report (February 2004)
a
Yield rate is based on 0.11μm process technology for 256Mbit.
67%
80%
80%
72%
Yield Rate
80%
60%
67%
50%
a
Purchase answer to see full
attachment