Samsung asks mid-$4/Gb for 2027 HBM4

WIRE · SEMICONDUCTORS · GLOBAL · Data as at 2 Oct 2026

Maeil Business reported exclusively on 2 October 2026 that Samsung Electronics has opened 2027 HBM4 annual-supply talks at mid-to-high $4 per gigabit — more than three times today’s ~$1.50/Gb HBM3E print. On the semiconductors layer, an opening ask is a negotiation print. It is not cleared cash until customers counter, qualify volume, and lock the annual contract. Ready is not paid.

What happened

On 2 October 2026, Maeil Business (input 17:34) reported that Samsung recently offered prices in the mid-to-high $4 range per Gb in negotiations with major customers over next year’s HBM4 supply contracts (Maeil Business English, 2 Oct 2026 — exclusive; Korean twin MK Korean, 2 Oct 2026). HBM3E, the current flagship, sits around $1.50/Gb. MK’s framing: more than three times.

Unlike commodity DRAM spot prints, HBM is mostly sold under annual long-term contracts — volumes and prices negotiated ahead so customers lock supply and makers set production plans. MK says a substantial share of next year’s major HBM volumes is already negotiated on volume; price talks are expected to enter final stages this month.

Do not treat mid-to-high $4/Gb as a closed contract ASP. It is Samsung’s opening ask. Who can still get paid watches what customers accept on qualified volume — not the first number in the room.

Why cash cares

On the semiconductors layer, cash for HBM clears when a qualified stack ships under a settled annual contract and the customer pays for that volume — see What Is HBM?, Who Makes HBM?, and Memory process tools for HBM. An opening ask of mid-to-high $4/Gb is ready in the negotiation room. It is not yet paid. That gap is the whole Wire: Maeil Business can date the ask on 2 October, and the memory maker can still be waiting on the customer counter when October’s price window closes.

Maeil Business’s 2 October exclusive puts a dated number on Samsung’s 2027 HBM4 ask and ties the stuck step to this month’s price close. Volumes for a substantial share of next year’s major HBM are already largely negotiated; price is what remains. That is the cash bind: the ask can print in a headline while the invoice still waits on the counter-offer and qualification.

Two cash clocks:

1. Ask vs settle. Mid-to-high $4/Gb vs ~$1.50/Gb HBM3E is Samsung’s opening position (>3× per MK). Cash moves when the annual contract ASP locks — not when the exclusive hits.
2. Premium vs qualified volume. Samsung’s framing (via MK) prices performance — 11.7 Gbps reliable, up to 13 Gbps. Who gets paid if that premium sticks on qualified volume is the memory maker. Who waits treats the ask as if every 2027 HBM4 gigabit already clears at $4.

TrendForce’s blended HBM ASP +121% YoY for next year, and Micron’s “far higher” HBM-price comment, are context only — industry mix and peer color, not Samsung’s settled 2027 HBM4 ASP. Ready is not paid.

Figure — HBM4 ask bind. Opening ask (mid-to-high $4/Gb) → customer counter + qualification → settled annual contract. Amber only on the negotiation / ask bind. Paid = qualified volume under a locked contract ASP.

The second-order read

Who gets paid. Memory makers — Samsung first in this print — if the premium sticks on qualified 2027 HBM4 volume. Customers who already locked volume still negotiate price; landlords and tools still clear on their own clocks whether or not $4 holds. The stuck step this month is not wafer starts — it is whether the opening ask survives the counter and lands on qualified volume.

Who waits. Narratives that treat mid-to-high $4/Gb as a closed industry ASP, or that collapse TrendForce’s blended +121% into Samsung’s contract price. No customer named as having accepted $4. No disclosed signed ASP.

By clock. Opening ask = MK exclusive, 2 Oct. Volume negotiation = largely done for a substantial share (per MK). Price close = final stages this month. Settled cash = annual contract ASP on qualified volume. Collapse them and the exclusive looks like cleared cash. It clears a negotiation bind toward cash. Ready is not paid.

Two cautions

Mid-to-high $4/Gb is an opening ask reported by Maeil Business, not a filed contract schedule. Do not invent a settled ASP, a named customer acceptance, or a SK hynix / Micron matched print beyond what MK carries.

TrendForce’s +121% blended HBM ASP and Micron’s conference-call color are secondary context inside the MK piece. They are not Samsung’s 2027 HBM4 contract price. Drop any secondhand figure that treats the ask as closed.

What would change the view

• A dated customer or filing print that shows 2027 HBM4 ASP settled — above, at, or below the mid-to-high $4 ask.
• Evidence that price talks slip past this month, or that volume already “negotiated” reopens.
• A peer (SK hynix / Micron) dated 2027 HBM4 contract ASP that anchors the band.
• Qualification fails or attach/CoWoS limits that cap how much premium volume can ship.

What to watch

• Contract closes through October 2026 — any dated ASP or “agreed” language from customers or makers.
• Samsung / peer earnings and supply notes — HBM4 mix, ASP commentary, qualification status.
• Qualification and attach — whether performance claims convert into qualified volume at the ask.
• Wafer-pool clock — HBM share of DRAM wafers (separate stuck-step; see prior Wafer pool analysis) vs this price ask.
• Peer asks — SK hynix / Micron 2027 HBM4 pricing color with dates.

Read: Semiconductors, What Is HBM?, Who Makes HBM?, Memory process tools for HBM, If HBM takes ~30% wafer share — where cash sticks, and Samsung HBM wafer pool — stuck step.

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Sources: Maeil Business English, 2 Oct 2026 — exclusive (Samsung mid-to-high $4/Gb HBM4 2027 ask; ~$1.50/Gb HBM3E; >3×; annual-contract process; price talks final this month; 11.7–13 Gbps framing; TrendForce +121% and Micron “far higher” as context); Maeil Business Korean, 2 Oct 2026 — same exclusive twin. Not investment advice.