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

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>SUMCO reported Q225 revenues of ¥102.9 billion, flat sequentially and roughly 3% higher than guidance.</li>
<li>Operating profit of ¥1.5 billion was also slightly better than the forecasted breakeven, but dramatically down from its peak of ¥30.2 billion in Q322.</li>
<li>A projected further increase in depreciation charges for the current quarter is forecasted to drive operating profit to negative ¥3.5 billion. Yikes!</li>
</ul>


SUMCO reported Q225 revenues of ¥102.9 billion, flat sequentially and roughly 3% higher than guidance.
Operating profit of ¥1.5 billion was also slightly better than the forecasted breakeven, but dramatically down from its peak of ¥30.2 billion in Q322.
A projected further increase in depreciation charges for the current quarter is forecasted to drive operating profit to negative ¥3.5 billion. Yikes!


SUMCO Q225. Operating Profit Tanks As Depreciation Soars

Japanese Turnaround Situations, Short-Ideas, Azabu Research

Michael Allen

Japanese Turnaround Situations, Short-Ideas

Azabu Research

Azabu Research is a publishing and consulting firm focused on distressed equities in the Japanese market. We specialize in turnaround strategies, corporate combinations, divestitures, and restructuring.

Publisher of the Tokyo Turnaround Letter, which conducts the most thorough research possible of publicly available information, including forensic tests for fraudulent overstatement of assets and understatement of liabilities, as well as rigorous market and industry analysis to assess the underlying strengths of the company’s products or services, the appropriateness of the company’s turnaround strategy, and the skill of its current management team. The average length of a report exceeds 25 pages of text and tables, excluding any disclosures or executive summaries.

We have more than 30 years of experience in applying this process to distressed equities in Japan. Additionally, subscribers have free access to detailed, yet easily navigated earnings models for the target company as well as the top five comparable companies, and unlimited access to the analyst for follow-up questions.

Azabu Research also conducts be-spoke research on a project basis, and provides consulting services to companies looking to restructure, divest, make acquisitions, go public, or improve investor sentiment toward their stock.

Independent Research and Consulting Firm

<ul>
<li>Capacity utilization at Sumco's largest customer, TSMC, jumped 10% in Q2, with another core customer, Renesas, showing consecutive improvements.</li>
<li>Surging AI chip demand and geopolitical shifts favoring non-Chinese suppliers are set to boost demand for high-end silicon wafers.</li>
<li>The stock trades at 0.7x book and 4.9x EV/EBITDA. These are levels we think the stock can make a meaningful upward advance from if the improvement in customer inventories broadens.</li>
</ul>


Capacity utilization at Sumco's largest customer, TSMC, jumped 10% in Q2, with another core customer, Renesas, showing consecutive improvements.
Surging AI chip demand and geopolitical shifts favoring non-Chinese suppliers are set to boost demand for high-end silicon wafers.
The stock trades at 0.7x book and 4.9x EV/EBITDA. These are levels we think the stock can make a meaningful upward advance from if the improvement in customer inventories broadens.


APAC IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Akshat Shah

APAC IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/wistron-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2189:1" rel="noopener">Wistron Corp (3231 TT)</a> is looking to raise up to US$922m in its global depository receipts (GDRs) offering.</li>
<li>Similar to previous GDR listings, the firm has undergone a long drawn out process prior to launching the deal, having to jump through a number of board/shareholder/regulatory approval loops.</li>
<li>In this note, we run the deal through our ECM framework and comment on deal dynamics.</li>
</ul>



Wistron Corp (3231 TT) is looking to raise up to US$922m in its global depository receipts (GDRs) offering.
Similar to previous GDR listings, the firm has undergone a long drawn out process prior to launching the deal, having to jump through a number of board/shareholder/regulatory approval loops.
In this note, we run the deal through our ECM framework and comment on deal dynamics.


Wistron GDR Offering - Well Flagged US$922m Offering, Discount Slightly Wider than Recent Deals

Managing Director, Zero One, Zero One

Vincent Fernando, CFA

Managing Director, Zero One

Zero One

Founded in 2015, Zero One produces independent investment research and provides corporate finance advisory services with a focus on both listed and private technology companies. Founder Vincent Fernando has over 20 years of experience in US and Asia capital markets.

Independent Investment Research

TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing) / Equity Bottom-Up

TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing) (TSM US)

TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing)

<ul>
<li>Google’s Pixel Chips to Go All-In on TSMC After Using Samsung Foundry Previously</li>
<li>TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): TSMC Provides Updates at 2025 Technology Symposium in Hsinchu Today. </li>
<li>GlobalWafers (6488.TT): Shareholders’ Meeting Held; US Tariff Effects Pending; SiC Chances Ahead. </li>
</ul>


Google’s Pixel Chips to Go All-In on TSMC After Using Samsung Foundry Previously
TSMC (2330.TT; TSM.US): TSMC Provides Updates at 2025 Technology Symposium in Hsinchu Today. 
GlobalWafers (6488.TT): Shareholders’ Meeting Held; US Tariff Effects Pending; SiC Chances Ahead. 


Taiwan Tech Weekly: Google's Pixel Going All-In on TSMC; TSMC 2025 Symposium Key Take-Aways

Taiwan Tech Focused Senior Analyst

Patrick Liao

<ul>
<li>Globalwafers (6488 TT) held its shareholders’ meeting yesterday (May 26th).  </li>
<li>Regarding the U.S. market, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/globalwafers-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:17916:1" rel="noopener">Globalwafers (6488 TT)</a> noted that the U.S. government will impose tariffs on imported products, although the specific rates are still unknown.  </li>
<li>Regarding the overall market conditions, the 12-inch silicon wafer market is currently performing significantly better than the 8-inch market, with higher utilization rates.  </li>
</ul>


Globalwafers (6488 TT) held its shareholders’ meeting yesterday (May 26th).  
Regarding the U.S. market, Globalwafers (6488 TT) noted that the U.S. government will impose tariffs on imported products, although the specific rates are still unknown.  
Regarding the overall market conditions, the 12-inch silicon wafer market is currently performing significantly better than the 8-inch market, with higher utilization rates.  


GlobalWafers (6488.TT): Shareholders’ Meeting Held; US Tariff Effects Pending; SiC Chances Ahead.

Taiwan

Globalwafers Co., Ltd. specializes in silicon wafer manufacturing and also provides solar wafers and crystal rods. The Company possesses a complete production line from ingot growth, slicing, etching, diffusion, polishing to epitaxy. Their products include Epi wafers, polished wafers, etched wafers, ultra thin wafers and deep diffusion wafers.

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Globalwafers (6488 TT)

SUMCO Q225. Operating Profit Tanks As Depreciation Soars

A projected further increase in depreciation charges for the current quarter is forecasted to drive operating profit to negative ¥3.5 billion. Yikes!

William Keating

Sumco (3436): So, This Is How Slumps Die

Unprecidented growth in customer inventory is what started Sumco's slump, but now customers are reporting increased capacity utilization, driven by...

Michael Allen

Wistron GDR Offering - Well Flagged US$922m Offering, Discount Slightly Wider than Recent Deals

Wistron Corporation (Wistron) is looking to raise up to US$922m in its global depository receipts (GDRs) offering. In this note, we run the deal...

Akshat Shah

Taiwan Tech Weekly: Google's Pixel Going All-In on TSMC; TSMC 2025 Symposium Key Take-Aways

Google is switching to TSMC for its Pixel chips, TSMC provides updates at technology symposium, GlobalWafers shareholders meeting held with US...

Vincent Fernando, CFA