Many mouths to feed

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) said it is accelerating its 3nm production ramp to reach up to 180,000 wafers per month earlier than planned, citing stronger orders from customers including NVIDIA, AMD, and Broadcom. The company also plans additional investment in advanced fabs in Taiwan, Arizona, and Japan. TSM shares were about $420.04, up 31.4% YTD and 75.2% over 12 months.

ASE Technology Holding Co. reported Q2 2026 revenue of TWD 191.1B (+10% sequential, +27% YoY) and net income of TWD 21.1B (+49% sequential, +180% YoY). ATM revenue was TWD 126.1B, gross margin 27.3%. Management raised annual CapEx guidance to $10.5B and guided Q3 revenue +21% to +22% sequential.

UMC’s Q2 2026 earnings call reported consolidated revenue of TWD 68.73 billion, up 12.6% sequentially, and gross margin of 32.5%. Net income was TWD 42.26 billion and EPS TWD 3.39. Management guided Q3 gross margin to the mid-30% range and utilization above 90%, citing higher capacity and AI-related demand.

SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics fell after Sandisk and Western Digital issued outlooks that missed elevated expectations. SK Hynix dropped nearly 9% and Samsung about 6%, dragging the KOSPI. Western Digital slid over 9% after-hours on a revenue forecast only slightly above estimates, while Sandisk fell about 8% on profit guidance below expectations. Other chip stocks including TSMC, SMIC, CXMT and Kioxia also declined.

SpaceX (Nasdaq: SPCX) reported Q2 revenue of $7.8B, up 92% year over year and above an estimated $6.93B, but shares fell more than 7% after hours. Capital spending rose to $18.4B, with $15.8B for AI operations and a $1.3B net operating loss. Musk said memory chip demand outpaces supply, keeping prices elevated, and named Nvidia for data centers.

According to The Information, TSMC (TSM) is developing an “EMIB-like” packaging technology modeled on Intel’s EMIB, working with substrate maker Kinsus Interconnect Technology. After the report, TSM shares rose about 8% and Intel about 11% on July 30. The article cites TSMC CoWoS capacity sold out into 2027 and Intel’s EMIB-T 98% yield.