Taiwan Tech Focused Senior Analyst

Patrick Liao

Being invited, I joined Sellside, i.e. JPMorgan, Nomura and Macquarie, totally around 9-10 years. Before that, I joined International Data Corp (https://www.idc.com/) to be the Asia Semiconductor analyst for nearly 2 years, and being invited to do personal lectures in TSMC, UMC, Samsung and etc. In my working experiences, I also had the chance to join Taiwanese panel company, AUO (2409.TT) and the buyside, Chinalife (2823.TT), totally for over 1 year.
I obtained MS degree from the Tsing-Hua University. Then I worked in the Taiwan Semiconductor companies for around 11 years. I had several US patents during my stay in the Semiconductor industry.

Being worked in the sellside and buyside, I deeply dived in the Greater China Semiconductor industry and directly covered some companies, like TSMC (2330.TT, TSM.US), UMC (2303.TT, UMC.US), Vanguard (5347.TT), ASE (3711.TT, ASX.US), SPIL (merged with ASE and delisted), KYEC ( 2449.TT), JCET (600584.CH), ASMPT (522.HK), GWC (6488.TT), WinSemi (3105.TT), Mediatek (2454.TT), Silergy (6415.TT), Novatek (3034.TT), Guoxin Micro (002049.CH) etc.

SMIC (981.HK): Although GM May Decline Slightly, Revenue Is Expected to Continue Growing in 4Q25.

SMIC (981.HK): The EUV Issue Remains, Forcing China to Develop Its Own Technology Now?

SMIC (981.HK): 2Q25 Results in Line; 3Q25 May Offer Mild Upside, but GM Is Expected to Be Flattish.

Equity Bottom-Up

SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp) / Equity Bottom-Up

SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp) (981 HK)

SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp)

<ul>
<li>4Q25 results: revenue was $2,489 million Up 4.5% QoQ and Up 12.8% YoY, gross margin was 19.2% and profit from operations was $299 million.</li>
<li>The 1Q26 guidance: Revenue to be flat and Gross margin to range from 18% to 20%. A typically seasonal softness can be expected, but 2026 still a stable growing trend. </li>
<li>However, SMIC’s stock price has risen only 0.28% since December 31, 2025—underperforming TSMC (+15%) and UMC (+12%).</li>
</ul>


4Q25 results: revenue was $2,489 million Up 4.5% QoQ and Up 12.8% YoY, gross margin was 19.2% and profit from operations was $299 million.
The 1Q26 guidance: Revenue to be flat and Gross margin to range from 18% to 20%. A typically seasonal softness can be expected, but 2026 still a stable growing trend. 
However, SMIC’s stock price has risen only 0.28% since December 31, 2025—underperforming TSMC (+15%) and UMC (+12%).


TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing) (TSM US)

TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing)

SMIC (981.HK): Expect a Flat QoQ Results in 1Q26, but 2026 Could Still Be a Growth Year.