United Microelectronics Corporation — 2026Q3 earnings

“Second Quarter 2026 Overview: ‧Revenue: NT$68.73 billion (US$2.18 billion) ‧Gross margin: 32.5%; Operating margin: 21.8% ‧Revenue from 22/28nm: 37% ‧Capacity utilization rate: 85% ‧Net income attributable to shareholders of the parent: NT$42.26 billion (US$1.34 billion) ‧Earnings per share: NT$3.39; earnings per ADS: US$0.537”

“Earnings per share: NT$3.39; earnings per ADS: US$0.537”

“our wafer shipments increased 10.6% quarter-on-quarter, driven by strong demand in the communication and consumer segments, further improving utilization rate to 85%. Revenue from our 22/28nm business continues to set record highs, with 22nm revenue representing 17.5% of second-quarter sales.”

“Third Quarter 2026 Outlook & Guidance ‧Wafer Shipments: Will increase by high-single digit ‧ASP in USD: Remain firm ‧Gross Profit Margin: Mid-30% range ‧Capacity Utilization: 90%+ ‧2026 CAPEX: US$2.0 billion”

“The plan will be executed in phases, enabling UMC to remain focused on capital discipline while flexibly deploying capacity to fulfill customer demand. As a result, 2026 capital expenditure budget will be revised upward to US$2 billion.”

“In Singapore, we will invest in the cleanroom installation of the Phase 4 (P4) facility and tool purchases to expand our silicon photonics capacity. With the building shell already built, we can expand cleanroom capacity efficiently as customer demand ramps. In Taiwan, we will construct a new fab building which will house future Phase 7 (P7) and Phase 8 (P8) facilities, creating a robust foundation for UMC to scale new technologies alongside customers’ long-term product roadmaps. This phased strategy allows UMC to maintain exceptional capital discipline, minimizing upfront depreciation while securing our position at the forefront of the AI-driven future.”

“And because of the recent stock market performance, our investment and dividend income together reached TWD 30 billion in the third quarter under the nonoperating income and expenses, which helped our net income to reached TWD 42.2 billion.”

“Gross margin rate increased by almost over a 3 percentage basis points to 32.5% or TWD 22.3 billion.”

“For the net nonoperating income, similar for what happened in the second quarter, for the first half of the total nonoperating income reached TWD 35.6 billion, which leads our -- net income to reach TWD 58.4 billion in the first 6 months of the year.”

“we do expect the new project like silicon photonic and advanced packaging will enhance our EBITDA margin, but the higher depreciation expenses will certainly have a swing impact on the gross margin. So I think with the announcement of the new fab in Tainan and also the new cleanroom in Singapore, no doubt, the depreciation expenses will increase as a result.”

“The current revenue for 2026 is projected to close to approximately $300 million for this year. And looking ahead, in 3 years, we expect the AI exposure to exceed USD 1 billion.”

“the pricing environment become more constructive, so the discussion -- engaging discussion with customers is actually a constructive discussion, giving that visibility, and we expect the annual pricing trend to be better than we anticipated, and we're even expecting more meaningful pricing uplift in 2027.”