Taiwan Tech Focused Senior Analyst

Patrick Liao

Equity Bottom-Up

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) / Equity Bottom-Up

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC)

<ul>
<li>It's an exciting 1Q24 result that revenue and GM beat the prior guidance.</li>
<li>The 2Q24 outlook appears to be better than 1Q24, with revenue expected to increase by 5% to 7% QoQ and GM by 9% to 11%.</li>
<li>We consider the primary bottleneck is the embargo of EUV machines to China from the Netherlands.</li>
</ul>


It's an exciting 1Q24 result that revenue and GM beat the prior guidance.
The 2Q24 outlook appears to be better than 1Q24, with revenue expected to increase by 5% to 7% QoQ and GM by 9% to 11%.
We consider the primary bottleneck is the embargo of EUV machines to China from the Netherlands.


SMIC (981.HK): 1Q24 Outlook Was Improved, and The 2Q24 Outlook Appears to Be Better than 1Q24.

<ul>
<li>The 1Q24F outlook is still showing a decline, with a slightly increase in revenue of 2% QoQ. However, the GM is expected to decrease to 9-11% from 16.4% in 4Q23.</li>
<li>Management predicts that there will be a double U-shaped recovery in 2024F. Revenue in 2024F is expected to grow annually by mid-single-digit.</li>
<li>The main areas of growth for SMIC in 2024F will be in mobile phones, smart homes, IoT, and computing.</li>
</ul>


The 1Q24F outlook is still showing a decline, with a slightly increase in revenue of 2% QoQ. However, the GM is expected to decrease to 9-11% from 16.4% in 4Q23.
Management predicts that there will be a double U-shaped recovery in 2024F. Revenue in 2024F is expected to grow annually by mid-single-digit.
The main areas of growth for SMIC in 2024F will be in mobile phones, smart homes, IoT, and computing.


SMIC (981.HK): The GM Reaches a New Low of 9-11% in 1Q24F, Despite Revenue Growing by 2% QoQ.

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)

<ul>
<li>August's WSTS semiconductor revenues registered a record high of more than $53 billion</li>
<li>Nobody seemed to notice, including the organization making the announcement</li>
<li>There's valid concern that the market is on the verge of a collapse, and this may be overshadowing record sales</li>
</ul>


August's WSTS semiconductor revenues registered a record high of more than $53 billion
Nobody seemed to notice, including the organization making the announcement
There's valid concern that the market is on the verge of a collapse, and this may be overshadowing record sales


Semis Just Broke a Record.  Why Did Nobody Notice?

China New Economy Equity Analyst, Blue Lotus Research Institute

Robert McKay

China New Economy Equity Analyst

China growth and global non-US Internet equities

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Blue Lotus Research is a Hong Kong Type 4 Licensed investment advisory firm focusing on Chinese growth equities and global non-US Internet equities

<ul>
<li>Nvidia's H20 and upcoming B20 were launched to comply with China export controls, and have remained successful due to deficiencies and supply issues for Huawei's Ascend AI accelerators.</li>
<li>However, Nvidia's China success will be short-lived due to increasing LLM compute requirements and no method for it to offer a more performance dense offering due to export controls.</li>
<li>Not only will Huawei's upcoming Ascend AI accelerator mitigate this issue, but it will likely also aim to address some of the other deficiencies of the Ascend platform too.</li>
</ul>


Nvidia's H20 and upcoming B20 were launched to comply with China export controls, and have remained successful due to deficiencies and supply issues for Huawei's Ascend AI accelerators.
However, Nvidia's China success will be short-lived due to increasing LLM compute requirements and no method for it to offer a more performance dense offering due to export controls.
Not only will Huawei's upcoming Ascend AI accelerator mitigate this issue, but it will likely also aim to address some of the other deficiencies of the Ascend platform too.


Nvidia's China Dominance in AI Accelerator Has Serious Deficiencies

<ul>
<li>In the past four quarters, Chinese companies bought 65+ ArF (Argon Fluoride) Immersion lithography machines, some capable of overlay precision as fine as 1.5nm overlay for Self-Aligned Double/Quadruple/Octuple Patterning (SAD/Q/OP);</li>
<li>The race is between Chinese foundries to put these lithography machines to meet the raging demand of AI, which looks optimistic in the medium term, despite short-term challenges;</li>
<li>The race is also among the global semiconductor industry to meet the demand for testing the limit of AI's scaling law. So far the balance tips in <strong>disfavor</strong> of China. </li>
</ul>


In the past four quarters, Chinese companies bought 65+ ArF (Argon Fluoride) Immersion lithography machines, some capable of overlay precision as fine as 1.5nm overlay for Self-Aligned Double/Quadruple/Octuple Patterning (SAD/Q/OP);
The race is between Chinese foundries to put these lithography machines to meet the raging demand of AI, which looks optimistic in the medium term, despite short-term challenges;
The race is also among the global semiconductor industry to meet the demand for testing the limit of AI's scaling law. So far the balance tips in disfavor of China. 


China's Near-Term Semiconductor Bottleneck Isn't ASML

China

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation operates a semiconductor foundry. The Company provides integrated circuit foundry and technology services including the testing, development, design, manufacturing, packaging, and sale of integrated circuits. Semiconductor Manufacturing International offers its products and services around the world.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) (981 HK)

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Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) (981 HK)

SMIC (981.HK): 1Q24 Outlook Was Improved, and The 2Q24 Outlook Appears to Be Better than 1Q24.

Exciting 1Q24 results show revenue and GM surpassing guidance, with optimistic 2Q24 outlook despite EUV machine embargo impacting China.

Patrick Liao

SMIC (981.HK): The GM Reaches a New Low of 9-11% in 1Q24F, Despite Revenue Growing by 2% QoQ.

SMIC's 1Q24F outlook predicts a slight revenue increase but a large decrease in GM. SMIC expects a double U-shaped recovery in 2024F, with growth...

Patrick Liao

Semis Just Broke a Record. Why Did Nobody Notice?

August's semiconductor revenues hit a record high of over $53 billion, but concerns about a potential market collapse are overshadowing the...

Jim Handy

Nvidia's China Dominance in AI Accelerator Has Serious Deficiencies

Nvidia's success in China may be short-lived due to the increasing number of failure points as model compute scales. Meanwhile, Huawei's Ascend...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

China's Near-Term Semiconductor Bottleneck Isn't ASML

China's semiconductor bottleneck isn't lithography tools in the near term, it is etchers. We see ST pressure, MT opportunity and LT challenge from...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

SMIC (981.HK): 1Q24 Outlook Was Improved, and The 2Q24 Outlook Appears to Be Better than 1Q24.

​Exciting 1Q24 results show revenue and GM surpassing guidance, with optimistic 2Q24 outlook despite EUV machine embargo impacting China.

Patrick Liao

SMIC (981.HK): The GM Reaches a New Low of 9-11% in 1Q24F, Despite Revenue Growing by 2% QoQ.

​SMIC's 1Q24F outlook predicts a slight revenue increase but a large decrease in GM. SMIC expects a double U-shaped recovery in 2024F, with growth...

Patrick Liao

Semis Just Broke a Record. Why Did Nobody Notice?

​August's semiconductor revenues hit a record high of over $53 billion, but concerns about a potential market collapse are overshadowing the...

Jim Handy

Nvidia's China Dominance in AI Accelerator Has Serious Deficiencies

​Nvidia's success in China may be short-lived due to the increasing number of failure points as model compute scales. Meanwhile, Huawei's Ascend...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

China's Near-Term Semiconductor Bottleneck Isn't ASML

China's semiconductor bottleneck isn't lithography tools in the near term, it is etchers. We see ST pressure, MT opportunity and LT challenge from...

Blue Lotus Research Institute

Exciting 1Q24 results show revenue and GM surpassing guidance, with optimistic 2Q24 outlook despite EUV machine embargo impacting China.

SMIC's 1Q24F outlook predicts a slight revenue increase but a large decrease in GM. SMIC expects a double U-shaped recovery in 2024F, with growth...

August's semiconductor revenues hit a record high of over $53 billion, but concerns about a potential market collapse are overshadowing the...

Nvidia's success in China may be short-lived due to the increasing number of failure points as model compute scales. Meanwhile, Huawei's Ascend...