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

KLA-Tencor Corporation manufactures yield management and process monitoring systems for the semiconductor industry.  The Company's systems are used to analyze product and process quality at critical steps in the manufacture of circuits and provide feedback so that fabrication problems can be identified. KLA-Tencor operates sales, service, and application centers worldwide.

<ul>
<li>Q124 revenues of 2.36 billion, $60 million above the guided midpoint, down 5% QoQ and down 3% YoY.</li>
<li>Current quarter revenue guidance of $2.5 billion representing a ~6% QoQ increase and about the same YoY.</li>
<li>Share price close to record highs yet CY2024 outlook is tepid while the massive over reliance on China just keeps on going</li>
</ul>


Q124 revenues of 2.36 billion, $60 million above the guided midpoint, down 5% QoQ and down 3% YoY.
Current quarter revenue guidance of $2.5 billion representing a ~6% QoQ increase and about the same YoY.
Share price close to record highs yet CY2024 outlook is tepid while the massive over reliance on China just keeps on going


KLAC. Priced For Perfection In 2025 & Beyond

Lam Research Corporation manufactures, markets, and services semiconductor processing equipment used in the making of integrated circuits.  The Company's products are used to deposit special films on a silicon wafer and etch away portions of various films to create a circuit design.  Lam sells its products around the world.

<ul>
<li>Q124 revenues of $3.79 billion, pretty much flat sequentially both QoQ and YoY, and also marginally better than guidance.</li>
<li>Looking ahead, the company forecasted Q224 revenues $3.8 billion, i.e. flat QoQ. Still no full year 2024 outlook</li>
<li>Technology transitions such as GAA, Backside Power, molybdenum replacing tungsten &amp; the rise of generative AI will all be growth drivers in 2025 &amp; beyond </li>
</ul>


Q124 revenues of $3.79 billion, pretty much flat sequentially both QoQ and YoY, and also marginally better than guidance.
Looking ahead, the company forecasted Q224 revenues $3.8 billion, i.e. flat QoQ. Still no full year 2024 outlook
Technology transitions such as GAA, Backside Power, molybdenum replacing tungsten &amp; the rise of generative AI will all be growth drivers in 2025 &amp; beyond 


LRCX. Mounting Tailwinds Bode Well For 2025 & Beyond

Advanced Micro Devices / Equity Bottom-Up

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) produces semiconductor products and devices. The Company offers products such as microprocessors, embedded microprocessors, chipsets, graphics, video and multimedia products and supplies it to third-party foundries, as well as provides assembling, testing, and packaging services. AMD serves customers worldwide.

<ul>
<li>Q124 revenues of $5.5 billion, $100 million above the guided midpoint, down 11% QoQ but up 2% YoY.</li>
<li>Looking ahead, AMD forecasted the current quarter revenues of $5.7 billion, up 3.6% sequentially.</li>
<li>Share price down 7% in AH and down 35% from its recent 52 week high. We could see it retest the $100 level in the coming months</li>
</ul>


Q124 revenues of $5.5 billion, $100 million above the guided midpoint, down 11% QoQ but up 2% YoY.
Looking ahead, AMD forecasted the current quarter revenues of $5.7 billion, up 3.6% sequentially.
Share price down 7% in AH and down 35% from its recent 52 week high. We could see it retest the $100 level in the coming months


Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Siltronic cut its 2024 sales revenue forecast by 10% just days ahead of their Q124 earnings release</li>
<li>Inventory levels, while gradually improving, are still at all time record highs</li>
<li>In the case of Siltronic, it seems likely that Automotive end-market weakness is the main culprit</li>
</ul>


Siltronic cut its 2024 sales revenue forecast by 10% just days ahead of their Q124 earnings release
Inventory levels, while gradually improving, are still at all time record highs
In the case of Siltronic, it seems likely that Automotive end-market weakness is the main culprit


Siltronic Slashes 2024 Sales Forecast As Inventory Woes Worsen

Intel Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells computer components and related products.  The Company's major products include microprocessors, chipsets, embedded processors and microcontrollers, flash memory products, graphics products, network and communications products, systems management software, conferencing products, and digital imaging products.

<ul>
<li>Q124 revenue was $12.7 billion, down 17.5% QoQ but up 9% YoY.</li>
<li>Q224 revenue forecast of just $13 billion &amp; vague promise of full year YoY growth disappoints</li>
<li>Capacity constraints on wafer level assembly limited Meteor Lake shipments. So much for a maniacal focus on execution.</li>
</ul>


Q124 revenue was $12.7 billion, down 17.5% QoQ but up 9% YoY.
Q224 revenue forecast of just $13 billion &amp; vague promise of full year YoY growth disappoints
Capacity constraints on wafer level assembly limited Meteor Lake shipments. So much for a maniacal focus on execution.


Dr. William Keating is a highly experienced senior executive with over 25 years experience in the IT/Semiconductor Industry. The majority of Dr. Keating's career was spent at Intel Corporation where he held senior leadership positions in Europe, the US and Asia from 1992 through 2014. He served as Intel's IT Director for APAC, China & Japan from 2005 through 2014 when he was based in Hong Kong and was responsible for the IT systems (Infrastructure, Networks, Data Centres, ERP, Sales & Marketing systems, Business Intelligence etc. ) for all of Intel's offices & factories through the region. From 1998 through 2005, he was the founder & director of an internal IT Consulting Organisation (IT Flex Services), a 500-person team which remains a core part of the Intel IT Organisation to this day. Dr. Keating's first 6 years at Intel were spent in charge of the Factory Automation Systems (Robotics, Databases, Networks, Servers, Clients etc.) supporting Intel's then state-of-the-art 200mm factory network. Since leaving Intel in 2014, Dr Keating established his own Technology Research & Consulting Company (www.ingenuity.hk) where he focuses on the products, roadmaps & technologies of companies such as Intel, AMD, Samsung, Apple, Micron- as well as the key equipment suppliers to those companies e.g. ASML, AMAT, Canon, Nikon etc. Dr. Keating specializes in niche topics of high significance within the semiconductor industry. These include the future of Moore's Law and in particular the significance of Lithography in maintaining Moore's Law (EUV, SDA, NanoImprint), the role & growth of the GPU in specialised applications such as Deep Learning (Neural Networks) for Voice, Image & Pattern recognition at companies such as Facebook, Google & Baidu. He also holds regular discussions on the future of memory, in particular the rise of 3D NAND and the emergence of new memory technologies such as 3D Xpoint.