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

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Ferrotec's production of 150mm wafers in China has increased &gt;6x since 2019</li>
<li>Siltronic's production of 150mm and smaller wafer diameters is no longer profitable</li>
<li>China likely now self-sufficient in the supply of 150mm and smaller diameter silicon wafers. Next milestone: 200mm wafers. </li>
</ul>


Ferrotec's production of 150mm wafers in China has increased &gt;6x since 2019
Siltronic's production of 150mm and smaller wafer diameters is no longer profitable
China likely now self-sufficient in the supply of 150mm and smaller diameter silicon wafers. Next milestone: 200mm wafers. 


Siltronic To Exit Small Diameter Wafer Market by 2025

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Q423 revenues of ¥105.1 billion, about 5% better than forecasted, up 5% QoQ but down ~10% YoY.</li>
<li>Q124 revenues forecasted to decline 17% QoQ to ¥87 billion. Not surprisingly, EBITDA will also decline 33% QoQ to ¥22.1 billion.</li>
<li>On a brighter note, demand growth driven by generative AI will roughly double wafer demand for servers (AI+General) by 2027</li>
</ul>


Q423 revenues of ¥105.1 billion, about 5% better than forecasted, up 5% QoQ but down ~10% YoY.
Q124 revenues forecasted to decline 17% QoQ to ¥87 billion. Not surprisingly, EBITDA will also decline 33% QoQ to ¥22.1 billion.
On a brighter note, demand growth driven by generative AI will roughly double wafer demand for servers (AI+General) by 2027


SUMCO's Sobering Outlook For Silicon Wafers

Technical Analyst, Vermilion Research

Joe Jasper

Technical Analyst

Technical and Quantitative Research

Vermilion Research

Vermilion’s objective is to deliver timely, actionable, and unique technical research to professional investors through the application of our various technical indicators.

Our research strategists seek to highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various technical and quantitative indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. Our unique research methodology, centered on relative strength, enables our strategists to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing the universe of actively traded stocks into discrete sectors, then into industry groups. We then apply our technical and quantitative tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sector or group, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. We provide a historical perspective that often reveals, through our long-term charts, how price patterns often repeat themselves over time.

Technical Analysis

iShares MSCI ACWI ETF / Technical Analysis

<ul>
<li>We see global equities (MSCI ACWI) going through a pause/pullback amid short-term breakouts in the U.S. dollar (DXY) and global sovereign 10-year yields.</li>
<li>A rising DXY and climbing yields is a near-term headwind, and we could continue to see more choppy price action in the weeks ahead.</li>
<li>With that said, as long as the DXY remains below $106, the 10-year Treasury yield remains below 4.35%, and ACWI-US is <em>above</em> $98, we would view pullbacks as buying opportunities.</li>
</ul>


We see global equities (MSCI ACWI) going through a pause/pullback amid short-term breakouts in the U.S. dollar (DXY) and global sovereign 10-year yields.
A rising DXY and climbing yields is a near-term headwind, and we could continue to see more choppy price action in the weeks ahead.
With that said, as long as the DXY remains below $106, the 10-year Treasury yield remains below 4.35%, and ACWI-US is above $98, we would view pullbacks as buying opportunities.


Pause/Pullback Underway; Downgrading Europe and Mexico; Buys in Services, Tech, Comm, Healthcare

<ul>
<li>Global semiconductor sales have increased MoM  for seven months in a row. PC &amp; Smartphone unit shipments have bottomed and are on the rise. Memory has bottomed.</li>
<li>Silicon wafer inventories are piled high, ASML, TEL facing down zero growth in 2024, foundry utilisations are (mostly) in the doldrums with further ASP cuts looming on the horizon. </li>
<li>Multiple data points suggest we'll still be talking about this downturn well into 2024</li>
</ul>


Global semiconductor sales have increased MoM  for seven months in a row. PC &amp; Smartphone unit shipments have bottomed and are on the rise. Memory has bottomed.
Silicon wafer inventories are piled high, ASML, TEL facing down zero growth in 2024, foundry utilisations are (mostly) in the doldrums with further ASP cuts looming on the horizon. 
Multiple data points suggest we'll still be talking about this downturn well into 2024


Semiconductors. The Downturn Is Over. Or Is It?

<ul>
<li>Global silicon wafer area shipments declined 10% QoQ in Q323 but customer inventory remains at historical highs and is showing no signs of declining</li>
<li>SUMCO's Operating Profit forecasted to fall by ¥8.6 billion QoQ in Q423 </li>
<li>The company vowed to make "substantial" production cuts in a bid to bring their inventory situation under control. </li>
</ul>


Global silicon wafer area shipments declined 10% QoQ in Q323 but customer inventory remains at historical highs and is showing no signs of declining
SUMCO's Operating Profit forecasted to fall by ¥8.6 billion QoQ in Q423 
The company vowed to make "substantial" production cuts in a bid to bring their inventory situation under control. 


Silicon Wafers. SUMCO Sounds The Alarm As Inventory Continues To Climb

Japan

SUMCO Corporation manufactures silicon wafers for the semiconductor industry. The Company produces silicon wafers used to produce solar batteries as well as ultra-high purity quartz used to produce vessels for silicon manufacturing process. SUMCO markets its products worldwide.

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SUMCO Corp (3436 JP)

Siltronic To Exit Small Diameter Wafer Market by 2025

Ferrotec's 150mm capacity in China >6x since 2019. Siltronic's 150mm & smaller wafers no longer profitable.China likely now self-sufficient in...

William Keating

SUMCO's Sobering Outlook For Silicon Wafers

Q423 revenues of ¥105.1 billion, +5% QoQ but -10% YoY. Q124 revenues -17% QoQ to ¥87 billion. EBITDA -33% QoQ to ¥22.1 billion. AI demand will...

William Keating

Pause/Pullback Underway; Downgrading Europe and Mexico; Buys in Services, Tech, Comm, Healthcare

Pause/pullback underway in $ACWI, but as long as the $DXY remains below $106, the 10-year Treasury yield remains below 4.35%, and $ACWI is above...

Vermilion Research

Semiconductors. The Downturn Is Over. Or Is It?

Despite the positives that PC and Smartphone markets are in recovery mode, semi sales growing MoM etc, multiple data points suggest we'll still be...

William Keating

Silicon Wafers. SUMCO Sounds The Alarm As Inventory Continues To Climb

SUMCO's Operating Profit forecasted to fall by ¥8.6 billion QoQ in Q423. The company vowed to make "substantial" production cuts in a bid to bring...

William Keating

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