foundry & packaging · Industry Index 9 (rank #142) ·
price: as of 2026-10-29 index: as of 2026-10-29 fundamentals: latest filing 2026-04-30 Reports quarterly (10-Q XBRL)
Tower Semiconductor is a specialty analog foundry providing RF-SOI, SiGe, silicon photonics and power-management process technologies.
Industry exposure 0.3 (Tower is an analog specialty foundry whose silicon-photonics and RF/SiGe platforms feed datacenter optical interconnects, an AI-adjacent growth area, though most revenue is broad analog/power.)
Delayed, end-of-day, aggregate per contract — not a live tape or trade-level flow. Buy/sell side is INFERRED from where each contract's last print sat in the bid/ask spread, not observed order flow. The company-wide side is withheld unless quoted contracts cover at least a quarter of the day's premium, so it can be blank while individual contracts below show a side. Call/put premium is measured across the chain we capture — the 6 nearest expiries within 45 days, not the full option chain — while the table below lists at most 20 flagged contracts, so summing those rows will not reproduce the percentage.
Why flagged:earnings in 5 days
| Date | Contract | Score | Side (inferred)? | OI Δ? | Volume | Vol/OI | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-28 | $180 PUT | 60 | buy-side | +4 | 8,871 | 23.1× | |
| 2026-10-28 | $160 PUT | 60 | mid-market · no side | +1 | 8,871 | 104.4× | |
| 2026-10-28 | $185 PUT | 52 | mid-market · no side | 0 | 498 | 8.4× | |
| 2026-10-28 | $180 PUT | 44 | mid-market · no side | 0 | 205 | 4.6× | |
| 2026-10-28 | $240 CALL | 38 | mid-market · no side | -3 | 8,911 | 8.0× | |
| 2026-10-28 | $230 CALL | 33 | mid-market · no side | +1 | 215 | 1.8× | |
| 2026-10-28 | $190 PUT | 30 | mid-market · no side | -1 | 7,835 | 1.0× | |
| 2026-10-28 | $175 PUT | 26 | mid-market · no side | -18 | 168 | 0.7× | |
| 2026-10-28 | $170 PUT | 25 | buy-side | +145 | 148 | 0.5× |
11 smaller flags (under $100000 premium) hidden.
latest session: 1.0× its 13-day baseline
19% calls / 81% puts (by premium)
News set the tone, but the swarm won’t commit — a positive tilt with weak agreement, so the call is Neutral.
Most voters leaned one way; structural dissented. Directional agreement 0.54.
A clear neutral score; conviction 0.08 reflects how strongly the agents agree. Conviction is confidence, not a probability of the move.
Tower Semiconductor is a specialty analog foundry. It owns one 200mm fab in Israel and two 200mm fabs in the U.S. It holds two Japanese fabs (200mm and 300mm) through its 51% stake in TPSCo, and shares a 300mm facility in Agrate, Italy with STMicroelectronics. Its platforms include SiPho, SiGe, BiCMOS, RF CMOS, CMOS image sensors, power management (BCD and 700V) and MEMS. Q2 2026 revenue was a record $460 million, up 24% YoY, with net profit of $91 million, and Q3 guidance is $520 million. Silicon photonics drives the growth. The Q2 2026 release puts SiPho at a $680 million annual run rate, up from $180 million a year earlier, and the company plans to cross a $1 billion run rate in Q4 2026. Tower raised its 2028 target to $3.6 billion of revenue with $1.2 billion of net profit, which it says is 'fully spoken for by our customers'; that is a company target, not a result. TrendForce (2026-02-13) relays Tower's statement that its SiPho technology will underpin 1.6T optical modules built to support NVIDIA's networking standards. Capacity is the constraint. TrendForce (2026-07-30) says Tower plans to convert its Arai facility in Japan into a 12-inch silicon photonics and advanced packaging platform, expand Fab 7 in Uozu, and prepare a new 12-inch fab. Tower disclosed that Intel intends to withdraw from a 2023 agreement to make 300mm wafers for Tower's clients in New Mexico; the companies entered mediation, and those volumes were rerouted to Fab 7 (TrendForce, 2026-02-13). The verdict is a narrow technology moat in silicon photonics, proven by customer prepayments. It is narrow because it covers one platform in a mostly mature analog business, and larger foundries are entering that platform.
Rating: narrow
Customers are paying in advance for Tower's silicon photonics capacity. On 2026-05-13 Tower announced SiPho contracts 'for $1.3 billion for 2027 revenue with its largest customers' and 'the receipt of $290 million in customers' prepayments for capacity reservation', backed by 'an even larger contractual wafer commitment for 2028'. The Q2 2026 balance sheet shows long-term customers' advances of $145,368 thousand at June 30, 2026, against $1,932 thousand at December 31, 2025. TrendForce's 2Q26 ranking (2026-09-09) attributes Tower's 11.2% QoQ growth to 'ICs used in AI optical transceiver modules, including TIAs/drivers, and photonic ICs'. Profits are rising: Q2 2026 gross profit was $138 million on $460 million of revenue, against $80 million on $372 million a year earlier. The moat is narrow, not wide. It covers one fast-growing platform. Tower's overall foundry share was 0.8% in 1Q26 (TrendForce, 2026-06-12), and TrendForce (2026-07-30) reports that TSMC, UMC and GlobalFoundries are all investing to compete in silicon photonics.
Type: intangibles ip
The moat comes from process technology: the SiPho and SiGe platforms that customers prepay to secure. In the May 2026 release, the CEO says the commitments reflect customers' confidence in Tower's 'differentiated, multi-generational silicon photonics technology roadmap'. Those are the company's own words. An outside view comes from a Chinese trade outlet. Its article, republished by 36Kr on 2026-03-02, says 'Tower is not only the absolute supplier of 1.6T PICs but also the main producer of core components such as drivers, TIAs, and PDs'. It adds that in the 1.6T era success depends on 'repeatable manufacturing, predictable yield, and large-scale supply capacity', which it calls Tower's core value. The same article quotes Tower's CEO claiming 'a leading position in the industry' in SiGe and SiPho, so the outlet partly echoes the company. The know-how is contestable. TrendForce (2026-07-30) reports that TSMC's COUPE platform 'has entered mass production'. UMC has delivered its first mass-produced silicon photonics wafers and plans its own 12-inch platform in 2027. GlobalFoundries bought the SiPho foundry AMF in 2025. Tower's Q2 2026 release also lists patent infringement claims brought against it by GlobalFoundries.
Leadership: co leader
Tower leads in silicon photonics but not in foundry overall. TrendForce ranks it seventh in both 1Q26, with a 0.8% share, and 2Q26, with $460 million of revenue. That is well behind GlobalFoundries at about $1.79 billion, which TrendForce says also grew on 'power ICs and TIAs/drivers'. In silicon photonics, the 36Kr article (2026-03-02) calls Tower 'the absolute supplier of 1.6T PICs', but the same article calls GlobalFoundries, after its AMF acquisition, 'the world's largest pure-play silicon photonic chip foundry in terms of revenue'. TrendForce (2026-07-30) names it alongside TSMC, UMC and GlobalFoundries as foundries 'making deep investments in the sector'. Tower calls itself 'the leading foundry of high-value analog semiconductor solutions'. No tracker share confirms that, so the band is co-leader, not clear leader.
Pricing power: moderate
Margins are improving, and SiPho customers are paying for capacity in advance. Q2 2026 gross profit was $138 million on $460 million of revenue, against $80 million on $372 million in Q2 2025. In MarketBeat's transcript of the Q2 2026 call, management put the gross margin at 30%. Q1 2026 operating cash flow of $510 million included a $285 million net increase in customers' advances, per the Q2 2026 release. The rest of the business is less tight. On the same call, management said the 200mm fabs ran at 80% to 85% utilization, while Fab 7 in Japan was fully utilized. No disclosed wafer price increase was found.
Curated moat judgment grounded in the cited source. source: towersemi.com
Layer: foundry & packaging
Upstream specialty foundry for optical-transceiver, RF, power-management and image-sensor chip companies. Its SiPho photonic ICs and SiGe TIAs and drivers go into AI datacenter optical modules.
Derived from this company's mapped supply-chain edges and its industry layer.
The moat prior voted +0.13 on the long (~6-month) horizon at weight 0.20 — the swarm call there is bearish (score -0.62, conviction 25).
Editorial prior — subjective, not backtested. It is bounded (±0.6), low-confidence, and never votes on short/medium. See exactly how it voted →
Products & services with an editorial market-share band and technical barrier band — qualitative judgments tied to a cited basis, never invented figures.
| Product | Market share | Technical barrier |
|---|---|---|
| Power management (BCD and 700V) · Analog power foundry Integrated power-management processes, including BCD and 700V platforms. In MarketBeat's transcript of the Q2 2026 call, management cited increased demand from existing customers and new customer wins across the power portfolio. | Unknown No tracker gives a power-management foundry share for Tower, and Tower does not break out power-management revenue. | Low Many foundries can enter this market. TrendForce (2026-05-07) says foundries are 'increasingly reallocating capacity from DDIC and CIS production to PMIC/BCD and power discrete manufacturing' because of the higher ASPs and margins in these segments. |
| SiGe BiCMOS (TIAs and drivers for optical modules) · RF and high-speed analog foundry Silicon-germanium processes for the transimpedance amplifiers and drivers in optical transceivers. In MarketBeat's transcript of the Q2 2026 call, management said 100G and 200G per lane products are in high-volume production across all three of its 200mm fabs. | Unknown No tracker gives a share or rank. TrendForce's 2Q26 ranking (2026-09-09) credits Tower's growth to TIAs/drivers and photonic ICs, and credits GlobalFoundries' growth to TIAs/drivers too. The only positional statement is the 36Kr article (2026-03-02) calling Tower 'the main producer' of drivers, TIAs and PDs, in an article that also quotes Tower's CEO claiming 'a leading position in the industry' in SiGe. Tower does not disclose SiGe revenue, so no band is claimed. | Moderate At least one larger foundry competes directly. TrendForce's 2Q26 ranking says GlobalFoundries' revenue rose on 'growing demand for AI and server peripheral components, including power ICs and TIAs/drivers'. |
| Silicon photonics (SiPho) foundry · Photonic integrated circuit foundry Photonic ICs for pluggable optical transceivers, and later near-packaged and co-packaged optics. The Q2 2026 release puts SiPho at a $680 million annual run rate, up from $180 million a year earlier. Tower has signed contracts for $1.3 billion of 2027 SiPho revenue. | Top 3 No tracker share was found. The 36Kr article (2026-03-02) says 'Tower is not only the absolute supplier of 1.6T PICs but also the main producer of core components such as drivers, TIAs, and PDs'. It also reports that more than 70% of Tower's SiPho capacity up to 2028 'has been booked by customers or is in the booking process'. The same article calls GlobalFoundries 'the world's largest pure-play silicon photonic chip foundry in terms of revenue'. Those are a trade outlet's and the company's statements, so the band stays at top 3 rather than leader. | Moderate Customers have paid $290 million in prepayments to reserve capacity, per the 2026-05-13 release. That shows qualified supply is scarce. But TrendForce (2026-07-30) reports that TSMC's COUPE platform has entered mass production, UMC plans its own 12-inch SiPho platform in 2027, GlobalFoundries acquired AMF, and CanSemi has built a 12-inch silicon photonics line in China. The barrier is not keeping well-funded rivals out. |
These charts plot Tower Semiconductor's reported income statement, cash flow, and balance sheet from its SEC filings through 2026-04-30. Every figure is as-filed XBRL — none of it is an estimate.
Over the reported window, net income at $220.5M in FY2025.
Analyst consensus — third-party estimates from Yahoo Finance, as of 2026-10-26. Not SEC filings and not a TradingPilot forecast. source: finance.yahoo.com
| Period | EPS (est.) | Revenue (est.) | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q/E Sep 2026 | USD 1.07 (USD 0.99–USD 1.12) · 8 | USD 522063610.00 (USD 519900000.00–USD 535255910.00) · 8 | +32% |
| FY 2026 | USD 3.89 (USD 3.66–USD 4.04) · 9 | USD 2.0B (USD 2.0B–USD 2.0B) · 8 | +26% |
Each figure shows the consensus mean, its (low–high) range where available, and · the number of analysts behind that estimate.
Next report ~2026-11-02.
Our model leans Bearish on the stock over the medium horizon — a market-direction call, not an earnings forecast. See the Signal tab.
Comparing against peers…
| Institution | Shares | Value | Δ shares QoQ | % of 13F | % shares out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BlackRock Passive / index | 3,290,073 | $857.5M | -979,231 | 0.0% | 2.90% |
| FMR (Fidelity) Passive / index | 920,247 | $239.7M | 919,154 | 0.0% | 0.81% |
| Renaissance Technologies Guru | 211,049 | $55.0M | -63,700 | 0.1% | 0.19% |
| State Street Passive / index | 30,211 | $7.9M | -6,848 | 0.0% | 0.03% |
| ARK Investment Management (Cathie Wood) Guru | 10,126 | $2.6M | -7,964 | 0.0% | 0.01% |
| Bridgewater Associates (Ray Dalio (founder)) Guru | 7,933 | $2.1M | -454,792 | 0.0% | 0.01% |
TradingPilot-computed columns (% of 13F, % shares out) are derived from as-filed 13F values; only name, shares and value are as-filed.
Tower Semiconductor · 2026-10-13 · partnership
Tower Semiconductor and Semtech announced an expanded multi-year agreement under which Semtech will invest in securing dedicated silicon germanium (SiGe) capacity at Tower to support demand for AI data center optical interconnect components. The secured capacity spans Tower's fabs in the United States, Israel and Japan.
GlobeNewswire · 2026-09-17 · product
Tower Semiconductor and fabless photonic IC company NewPhotonics announced high-volume shipment of laser-integrated optical engine PICs for AI infrastructure interconnect, built on the PH18DA silicon photonics platform. The volume-production PICs support data rates from 800G to 1.6T, with future volume manufacturing planned for 6.4T NPO solutions.
GlobeNewswire · 2026-08-11 · partnership
OpenLight's photonic process design kit for Tower Semiconductor's PH18DA InP-on-silicon photonics platform is now available in Cadence EDA tools, letting customers design photonic ICs for applications including optical interconnects and AI infrastructure within a standard IC design environment.
Google News: Tower Semiconductor · 2026-07-16 · funding
Japan is backing a $3 billion AI chip manufacturing investment push at Tower Semiconductor.
2026-10-27 Yahoo Finance: TSEM · Tower Semiconductor’s $1.2B Profit Roadmap Faces Its Biggest Test Yet in Q3 Earnings
2026-10-23 Yahoo Finance: TSEM · Has Tower Semiconductor (TSEM) Run Ahead of Its Earnings Power?
2026-10-14 Yahoo Finance: LITE · Lumentum Is Sold Out Through 2029. Could Tower Semiconductor Be the Next Big Winner?
2026-10-13 GlobeNewswire Semiconductors · Tower Semiconductor Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Conference Call
2026-10-13 Yahoo Finance: TSEM · Tower Semiconductor Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Conference Call
2026-10-09 Yahoo Finance: TSEM · Can Tower Semiconductor (TSEM) Ride the AI Optical Interconnect Wave?
Impact = company-prominence tier (High/Medium auto-assigned by graph centrality/size; Low only on curated minor events), not a magnitude forecast.
| Date | Type | Event | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-02 | earnings | Tower Semiconductor earnings — Company-confirmed date. confirmed | Medium |
| Date | Event | Impact | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-04 | Tower Semiconductor earnings confirmed | Medium | EPS beat · -11.9% |
