This weekly newsletter pulls together summaries of the top ten most-read Insights across Tech Hardware and Semiconductor on Smartkarma.
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1. Silicon Wafers. Is It Time To Invest?
- Worldwide silicon wafer shipments decreased by 2.7% to 12,266 million square inches in 2024, details here. This follows a 14.3% decline in the prior year.
- Silicon wafer companies continue to trade at historic lows with two of the top four players sporting P/B ratios of 0.7. Intel’s P/B is presently 0.9. This makes little sense.
- The current depreciation headwinds triggered by a huge CapEx splurge from 2021-2024 will turn to tailwinds once demand recovers and built-ahead production capacity stands ready & waiting.
2. Taiwan Dual-Listings Monitor: TSMC Trading Range Breakdown? ChipMOS Discount Rare Long Opportunity
- TSMC: +14.1% Premium; Given Latest Market Weakness, Safest to Wait for a Slightly Lower Premium Before Going Long
- ASE: -1.8% Discount; Good Level to Go Long the Spread
- ChipMOS: -6.8% Discount: Long the Spread, Historical Extreme Discount Level
3. Taiwan Tech Weekly: If TSMC Joins Intel for Foundry, It Will Entrench Dominance; Structural Long
- TSMC Eyes Intel Foundry Joint Venture: Strategic Expansion or Risky Bet?
- TSMC Addresses U.S. Expansion Concerns: Strengthens TSMC Position & Positive for Semi Industry Capex
- MWC Barcelona Showcased The 6G Showdown: MediaTek Vs. Qualcomm in the Race for Wireless Supremacy
4. Intel Finally Gets A New CEO: Lip-Bu Tan. Now What?
- Lip-Bu Tan, former CEO of Cadence and founding partner at Walden Catalyst Ventures, will become Intel’s ninth CEO effective March 18
- Mr. Tan is an extremely impressive technology leader, speaker, & influencer with many and varied interests. He is an excellent choice for the most important CEO role in Intel’s history
- Press releases seem to emphasise Products over Foundry but any decision in this regard will take time so it doesn’t appear that Mr. Tan is simply following the board’s orders.
5. IS AI Spending Poised to Fall?
- Hyperscaler CapEx could be slowing down, based on 4Q24 spending
- Microsoft made a significant cut in Q4, but Amazon, Facebook, and Alibaba all made big increases
- Industry CapEx as a percent of revenue has slowed its growth
6. Silergy (6147.TT): 1Q25 Outlook Sales: Down QoQ but up QoQ. 2025 Outlook Sales: Up 20-30% YoY.
- 2025 outlook Sales: up 20-30% YoY. More certain on China demand recovery. Gradually enters Mass-Production (MP) for Gen 3/4 products. Main growth drivers are consumer and Electric Vehicle.
- Silergy targets for auto sales contributed to reach 15% in 2025.
- Will witness a rebound in 2Q25 for computing and Consumer and auto will also grow QoQ given resumption for production in China.
