- TSMC’s Arizona Yield Success Silences Doubts: Management confirmed first U.S. fab has achieved yields comparable to Taiwan, validating global replication model and reinforcing alignment with U.S. clients like Apple, Nvidia.
- U.S. Buildout Anchoring TSMC’s Long-Term Dominance: With 30% of N2 and beyond capacity to be in USA, TSMC building footprint across fabs, packaging, and R&D competitors will struggle to match.
- Margins Resilient, AI Demand Accelerating: 1Q25 beat on AI strength despite smartphone softness and earthquake disruption. 2Q25E revenue guidance of +13% QoQ reflects continued momentum in advanced nodes and HPC.
- TSMC: 16.5% Premium; Short Interest Remains Near Historical Highs for ADR and Local
- ASE: +2.2% Premium; Wait for Closer to Par Before Going Long; Short Interest in Local Shares at Highs
- ChipMOS: +1.1% Premium; Short Interest in Local Shares Hits New Highs
- Faraday Top-Line Soars on CoWoS Chip Packaging Services Support Ramp — 78% of MP Revenue Came from AI/HPC Applications
- TSMC-Aligned Execution Enables Asset-Light Business Scaling for Faraday — New Fabless OSAT Service is Highly Differentiated; Competitive Advantage
- Outlook: Continued Very Strong Momentum into 2Q25 — 1H25 Revenue Will Be Higher Than All of 2024
- SK hynix announced their second-highest revenue and operating profit for the first quarter of 2025
- Much of the company’s performance is the result of its first-mover advantage and excellent execution in the HBM market
- Two issues threaten the company: AI growth may stall, and tariff changes could interfere with the company’s global supply chain
- TSMC’s Arizona fab hits Taiwan-level yields, easing replication concerns and reinforcing its global leadership across N2 and advanced packaging.
- AI demand offsets smartphone softness in 1Q25; TSMC guides +13% QoQ revenue for 2Q25 as margins hold firm despite tariff and earthquake headwinds.
- Faraday and UMC results ahead this week — Key readouts on Taiwan’s ASIC, mature node, and design service momentum amid U.S.-China tech decoupling.
- After the new CEO, Mr. Lip-Pu Tan, took office at the chip giant Intel Corp (INTC US), he initiated a large-scale restructuring of the executive team and organization.
- Intel Corp (INTC US) to sell 51% share of Altera to Silver Lake, a global leader in technology investing. This deal is further to deal with non-performing assets.
- Now, the critical question is, who are the clients of Intel Corp (INTC US) IFS (Intel Foundry Service)?
- 2Q25 guidance: Wafer shipments: increase 5~7%, ASP in USD: flat, GM: About 30%.
- The US tariffs affect customer outcome visibility in 2Q25 and 2H25 is limited.
- UMC is seeking a strategic plan to enhance shareholder value, and there is no ongoing merger plan at the moment, which implies no merger plan with GF.
- UMC guides for 2Q25 rebound, expecting 5–7% QoQ wafer shipment growth and margin recovery to ~30%, though 2H25 visibility remains low due to tariff and inventory uncertainty.
- Intel Corp (INTC US) 12nm project progressing; Initial client orders planned for 2026E, with management leaving the door open to future partnerships—including rumored GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GFS US) collaboration—amid strategic diversification efforts.
- Tariff-Driven pull-forward of orders IS happening but impact reportedly limited so far, with UMC noting mixed customer behavior; near-term demand strength appears broad-based. We have a Neutral rating for UMC.
- Intel reported Q125 revenues of $12.7 billion, down 0.4% YoY, down 11% QoQ but still $500 million above the guided midpoint, precisely the same beat as in the prior quarter.
- Looking ahead, Intel forecasted current quarter revenues of $11.8 billion at the midpoint, this time extending the range from $1 billion in the prior quarter to $1.2 billion
- LBT is in the process of undertaking sweeping changes to his ELT, flattening its structure, taking on multiple additional reports and showing many senior executives the door. That’s good.
- Keyence stands to benefit from a rising return on its large holdings of cash and securities, which are also available for investment and higher dividends.
- The company’s engineering-service business model should keep gross and operating margins high while it continues to expand overseas.
- Projected valuations at the low end of their 5-year ranges. Recession and abrupt appreciation of the yen are the primary risks.
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