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. TSMC Q325. Today, The Numbers Are Insane
- Q3 2025 revenues of $33.1 billion, slightly exceeding the upper end of the guided range, up 10.1% QoQ and up 40.8% YoY.
- On track for 35% YoY revenue growth in 2025, with revenue likely to exceed $120 billion
- No QoQ revenue growth this quarter suggests either AI demand growth has stalled or TMSC is maxed out at the leading edge. Methinks it’s the latter..
2. Taiwan Dual-Listings Monitor: TSMC Spread Sinks Sharply; ASE Near Parity Again
- TSMC: +22.1% Premium; Continue to View 24% or Higher as Level to Short From
- UMC: +0.4% Premium; Results Coming… Wait for More Extreme Spread Levels
- ASE: +0.4% Premium; Near Good Level to Go Long the ADR Spread
3. Intel Q325. Solid Quarter But Still No Coherent AI Strategy & 18A Yields Won’t Mature Until 2027
- Intel announced Q325 revenues of $13.7 billion, above the high end of the guided range, up 6% QoQ and up 2.8% YoY
- Intel forecasted current quarter revenues of $13.3 billion at the midpoint, down $1 billion YoY and down $400 million QoQ
- 18A yields are not where we need them to be, by the end 2026 they probably will be, and they should be “industry acceptable” by 2027
4. Taiwan Tech Weekly: Mediatek & Nvidia Announce GB10 Partnership; TSMC’s Prices Spur Samsung Interest
- MediaTek Joins Forces with NVIDIA on the GB10 Superchip — Locally-Run AI Models Are Coming to Your Desktop
- TSMC’s 2nm Price Hike Spurs Interest in Samsung, But Underscores Its Strength
- Latest for Smartphone Demand 3Q25: A Little Bit Better, Just a Little
5. Intel (INTC.US): 3Q25 Results Slightly Beat; Emphasized AI Importance; Seeking New Foundry Clients.
- Intel Corp (INTC US) 3Q25 slightly exceeded consensus estimates in both revenue and EPS.
- CEO Lip-Bu Tan emphasized the growing importance of AI, while CFO David Zinsner highlighted the accelerated funding from the U.S. government and strategic investments from NVIDIA and SoftBank
- Intel’s foundry business still relies primarily on internal orders and continues to seek external customers.
6. LRCX Q325. Solid Results, Outlook But China Exposure Is A Glaring Red Flag
- LRCX reported September 2025 quarter revenues of $5.32 billion, marginally above the guided midpoint, up 3% QoQ and up 27.7% YoY.
- LRCX is forecasting current quarter revenues of $5.2 billion at the midpoint, slightly down sequentially, but up 18% YoY. In other words, the AI boost is coming, just not yet.
- The elephant in the room was once again revenue mix from China which accounted for a whopping 43% of sales, up from 35% in the prior quarter. Oh my!
7. IHI (7013 JP): SAR Satellite Deal Adds to Takaichi Trade
- New Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aims to raise defense spending to 2% of GDP this fiscal year, two years ahead of the original schedule.
- Takaichi also wants to accelerate investment in advanced defense technologies. IHI, which recently signed an agreement with ICEYE to build earth observations satellites, should be among the beneficiaries.
- IHI’s sales and profit comparisons should turn positive during FY Mar-26. A 7-for-1 stock split effective October 1, 2025, makes the shares more attractive to retail investors.
