Samsung Electronics' preliminary earnings have shaken financial markets. Drawing on a report from a US brokerage, DIGITIMES Intelligence analyst Luke Lin examined the actual progress of advanced-node capacity expansion at TSMC, Intel, and Samsung, arguing that market expectations in several areas have run ahead of reality.
Apple and Broadcom have extended their custom-chip partnership through 2031 under agreements expected to exceed US$30 billion, reinforcing Broadcom's position as a critical Apple chip supplier.
TSMC is accelerating advanced packaging capacity expansion as supply remains tight, with market chatter indicating its CoWoS monthly output will reach at least 200,000 wafers in 2027. Equipment makers are still waiting for TSMC to finalize order allocation, a delay that is raising fears of price-cutting competition and delivery delays, as lead times run at least seven to nine months.
Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology are taking different manufacturing paths for the logic base die in HBM4, opening a new front in the competition over advanced memory performance, yield and supply.
GigaDevice Semiconductor expects first-half 2026 net profit to reach about CNY6.9 billion (US$960 million), a 1,099% increase from a year earlier, after tight memory chip supply lifted both shipment volumes and prices.
Chunghwa Precision Test Tech president Scott Huang said on July 7 that the company's biggest challenge over the next five years will be capacity as artificial intelligence demand surges across the semiconductor supply chain. He also urged Taiwan to increase investment in quantum technology and nuclear fusion, saying both fields could shape the island's long-term industrial future.
