Founder/CEO of ROK Advisory, ROK Advisory LLC

Ken S. Kim

Founder/CEO of ROK Advisory

ROK Advisory LLC

ROK is an independent research advisory firm. We guide you to minimize the information gap between foreign and local investors in Northeast Asia with a focus in Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

Independent Research Advisory Firm

Equity Bottom-Up

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) / Equity Bottom-Up

TSMC has been a significant outperformer versus Samsung Electronics.   How can TSMC continue this performance in the near future?   We take a look at their customer profiles as well what has been priced in and has not for the next few years.

TSMC has been a significant outperformer versus Samsung Electronics.   How can TSMC continue this performance in the near future?   We take a look at their customer profiles as well what has been priced in and has not for the next few years. 

TSMC Vs. Samsung.  Where's the Net Add Upside?

Semiconductors, Memory and SSDs Specialist, Objective Analysis

Jim Handy

Semiconductors, Memory and SSDs Specialist

Objective Analysis

Objective Analysis offers third-party independent market research and data for the semiconductor industry and investors in the semiconductor industry.

Semiconductors, Memory and SSDs

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics for August have just been released, and revenues increased for the second sequential month, a positive sign in a puzzling year.  All in all, it appears that the semiconductor sector is faring well despite the pandemic.  It's far too soon to call this growth a trend, though, but it currently appears that the industry is poised to grow at its historical 3.9% annual average rate.

The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics for August have just been released, and revenues increased for the second sequential month, a positive sign in a puzzling year.  All in all, it appears that the semiconductor sector is faring well despite the pandemic.  It's far too soon to call this growth a trend, though, but it currently appears that the industry is poised to grow at its historical 3.9% annual average rate.

The Semiconductor Industry Association's monthly statistics update, covering July's semiconductor sales, show revenues that continue to follow the growth trend of the past 25 years.  This Smartkarma Insight uses graphics to show that the market is still in good health despite 2020's challenging circumstances.

The Semiconductor Industry Association's monthly statistics update, covering July's semiconductor sales, show revenues that continue to follow the growth trend of the past 25 years.  This Smartkarma Insight uses graphics to show that the market is still in good health despite 2020's challenging circumstances.

Semiconductor & Technology Specialist, Ingenuity

William Keating

Semiconductor & Technology Specialist

Ingenuity

Our focus is exclusively on in-depth research & consulting in the broader semiconductor industry. We focus on the key players, namely Intel, Micron, Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung, NVIDIA, AMD, TSMC & Global Foundries - as well as some of the lesser known, but nonetheless critical, companies such as ASML (for EUV), Mellanox, Cavium, Xilinx etc. We specialise in their products, roadmaps, process technologies, competitive advantages & threats etc. We also help our clients understand the implications of new and emerging technologies, e.g. 3D X-Point, 3D NAND, Carbon Nanotubes, Autonomous Driving, Graphene, Silicon Photonics, Wafer-Level Optics, Artificial Intelligence, FPGA, GPU, ASIC etc. 

Semiconductor Analysis & Research

The much-anticipated acquisition by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nvidia-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5891:1" rel="noopener">NVIDIA</a> of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/arm-holdings-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:21816:1" rel="noopener">Arm</a> from <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/softbank-group-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:315:1" rel="noopener">Softbank</a> was formally <a href="https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-to-acquire-arm-for-40-billion-creating-worlds-premier-computing-company-for-the-age-of-ai" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> on Monday. The transaction is valued at $40 billion, an approximately equal combination of cash and NVIDIA stock.On the surface the deal looks strategically solid from NVIDIA's perspective. It places the company at the center of Arm's one hundred and eighty billion connected device ecosystem. Perhaps even more importantly, it opens up the possibility of an outright assault on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/intel-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16764:1" rel="noopener">Intel's</a> data center dominance by adding Arm-based server processors to complement NVIDIA's existing lineup of GPUs and interconnect.Underneath the surface however, this deal is fraught with issues and risks. While Arm has been a very successful company, their growth is flatlining as smartphone sales stagnate. Furthermore, we see the rise of RISC-V as a very real threat to Arm's business model in the coming years. Arm has never competed with its customers. Under NVIDIA ownership, this will be virtually impossible to avoid.From a regulatory perspective, Arm IP moving under american ownership will raise the very real prospect that this technology will become a future weapon in the US-China trade and technology wars. In today's environment, it's difficult to see why China would agree to facilitate that possibility.All in all we think this deal is not as good as it seems on the surface and that it will be practically impossible to get through the regulatory approval process.

The much-anticipated acquisition by NVIDIA of Arm from Softbank was formally announced on Monday. The transaction is valued at $40 billion, an approximately equal combination of cash and NVIDIA stock.On the surface the deal looks strategically solid from NVIDIA's perspective. It places the company at the center of Arm's one hundred and eighty billion connected device ecosystem. Perhaps even more importantly, it opens up the possibility of an outright assault on Intel's data center dominance by adding Arm-based server processors to complement NVIDIA's existing lineup of GPUs and interconnect.Underneath the surface however, this deal is fraught with issues and risks. While Arm has been a very successful company, their growth is flatlining as smartphone sales stagnate. Furthermore, we see the rise of RISC-V as a very real threat to Arm's business model in the coming years. Arm has never competed with its customers. Under NVIDIA ownership, this will be virtually impossible to avoid.From a regulatory perspective, Arm IP moving under american ownership will raise the very real prospect that this technology will become a future weapon in the US-China trade and technology wars. In today's environment, it's difficult to see why China would agree to facilitate that possibility.All in all we think this deal is not as good as it seems on the surface and that it will be practically impossible to get through the regulatory approval process. 

NVIDIA+Arm. Strategically Solid But Practically Impossible.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused profound business shifts, resulting in near ruin for some sectors while strengthening others.  This Smartkarma Insight explores this phenomenon and shows how it relates to semiconductors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused profound business shifts, resulting in near ruin for some sectors while strengthening others.  This Smartkarma Insight explores this phenomenon and shows how it relates to semiconductors.

United States

QUALCOMM, Inc . manufactures digital wireless communications equipment.  The Company licenses its code division multiple access (CDMA) and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing access intellectual property to other companies, and produces CDMA-based integrated circuits; and produces equipment and software used to track workers and assets; and software for wireless content enablement.

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Qualcomm Inc (QCOM US)

TSMC Vs. Samsung. Where's the Net Add Upside?

Why TSMC is still a buy as we look into 2022. Does Samsung have the scale to keep Qualcomm in their grasp and if not what is the next catalyst for...

Ken S. Kim

August Semiconductor Sales Increase

The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics for August have just been released, and revenue

Jim Handy

SIA July Stats Still Show Strength

The Semiconductor Industry Association's

Jim Handy

NVIDIA+Arm. Strategically Solid But Practically Impossible.

The long-anticipated acquisition by NVIDIA of Arm Holdings (ARM LN)

William Keating

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Semiconductors

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused profound business shifts,

Jim Handy

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