Symbolic imageChinese chipmakers post record quarter as AI demand lifts mature nodes
SMIC and Hua Hong reported triple-digit profit growth for the June quarter on Thursday. China's memory makers passed milestones of their own.
SMIC's net profit rose 261.7 per cent year on year to 479.2 million dollars in the June quarter and Hua Hong Grace's by 385.9 per cent to 38.6 million, the South China Morning Post reported; Hua Hong's revenue hit a record 717.5 million dollars, above a consensus estimate of 702.7 million. Global Times reports that SMIC's quarterly revenue topped three billion dollars for the first time, and the Wall Street Journal ties the beat to surging mature-node orders. Both foundries are running their plants at full capacity as domestic firms scramble for computing power, with demand focused on Chinese AI chips outside US export controls. SMIC told the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday, 13 August that AI momentum would persist in the second half.
Memory maker CXMT tops Tencent
Bloomberg reported on Thursday that CXMT has overtaken Tencent as China's most valuable listed company. Bloomberg Intelligence argues the CSI 300 will lose appeal before CXMT joins the index.
YMTC ahead of Kioxia in NAND
Citing a report, Bloomberg said YMTC shipped more NAND flash than Japan's Kioxia for the first time. Asian memory shares rose on Friday after Sandisk's outlook.
Other opinions
Global Times casts the quarter as proof of growing scale in a favourable market, while Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal read the same figures through valuations, index mechanics and export controls.