1. TSMC’s November Revenue Declines 15.3% MoM.
- Revenue for November 2023 was NT$206.03 billion, a decrease of 15.3% MoM, and down 7.5% compared to the year ago period.
- Based on the guided midpoint, December revenue will show a further 20% MoM decline
- We estimate FY2023 revenues of $68.8 billion, down 9.4% YoY.
2. Taiwan Dual-Listings Monitor: TSMC Premium at an Extreme; ASE Dropping Lower and Lower
- TSMC: 10.4% Premium — Decent Level to Short the Spread At
- ASE: 6.2% Premium — Wait for 5% as the Level to Go Long the Spread
- UMC: Trading at 0.8% — Wait for 1.5% or Higher
3. MediaTek (2454.TT): The WiFi 7 Chip Competition Is Likely to Become Fierce in 2024.
- The WiFi technology was dominated by Broadcom Corp Cl A (BRCM US), but Mediatek Inc (2454 TT) has to break into the PC and smartphone markets in 2024F.
- There are speculations that Apple might use MediaTek’s WiFi 7 solution in 2024F or consider MediaTek as a potential chip provider.
- MediaTek will be using 6nm technology for WiFi 7, replacing the current 28nm technology used for WiFi 6.
4. Rohm (6963 JP): Government Subsidy for Power Device Project with Toshiba
- Rohm’s share price was up 6% on Friday, December 8, on the news that the Japanese government will subsidize its collaboration with Toshiba in power semiconductors.
- The subsidy will amount to one-third of the ¥388.3 billion yen the two companies plan to invest in Silicon Carbide and Silicon devices for the electric vehicle and other industries.
- Rohm hit bottom on October 31, management cut FY Mar-24 guidance on November 1 and the market is now looking to recovery. Toshiba will be delisted on December 20.
5. AMD. With FY23 Revenues Set to Fall ~4% YoY, Is The Party Over?
- AMD’s resurgence against a dominant Intel saw the company grow annual revenues >4x between 2017 and 2022
- FY 2023 revenue is likely to be down roughly $1 billion or ~4% YoY.
- We expect a combination of renewed Data Center market share growth plus a grand entrance into the AI acceleration segment will restart the party all over again in 2024.
6. Taiwan Tech Weekly: AI Plays Weak Despite Strong Taiwan Tech Market Performance
- Overall, it was a strong week for Taiwan Tech. TSMC and Mediatek showed strong performances, as well as key names we like such as Yageo and Himax.
- AI-Related Taiwan plays showed relative weakness. This weakness interestingly happened during a week when NVIDIA Corp (NVDA US) performed well.
- According to insight provider Patrick Liao, MediaTek WiFi 7 chip competition is likely to become fierce in 2024.
Weekly Top Ten Tech Hardware and Semiconductor
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