Semiconductor News 7.4

1. Demand for AI Drives Memory Chip Price Rebound, Analysts Expect Samsung Electronics' Q2 Profit to Grow 13-fold Year-on-Year

Reuters, July 4 - Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chip, smartphone, and television manufacturer, is poised to record its highest operating profit since Q3 2022 in the second quarter ending June 30. According to LSEG SmartEstimate's average prediction from 27 industry analysts, Samsung Electronics' Q2 operating profit is expected to reach 8.8 trillion won (approximately $6.34 billion), surging over 13 times compared to the 670 billion won of the same period last year.

Reports indicate that Samsung's semiconductor division is expected to achieve an operating profit of 4.6 trillion won (approximately $3.33 billion) this quarter, marking two consecutive quarters of profit growth and a stark contrast to the 4.36 trillion won (approximately $3.16 billion) loss from the same period last year.

This growth is mainly due to the steady rise in memory chip prices. According to industry analysis firm TrendForce, DRAM chip prices increased by 13% to 18% quarter-on-quarter in Q2, while NAND Flash memory chip prices rose by 15% to 20%.

However, despite stable smartphone sales, Samsung's mobile business may face a decline in Q2 operating profit due to rising component costs and increased marketing and R&D investment in AI services. Nonetheless, Samsung's strong performance in the semiconductor sector is expected to support substantial overall profit growth. This information is based on analyst forecasts and industry trend analysis, with final financial data to be confirmed when Samsung Electronics officially releases its Q2 financial report.

2. Jensen Huang Sets New Record with $169 Million Nvidia Stock Sell-off in June

Financial Associated Press, July 4 - Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang sold nearly $169 million worth of company stock in June, marking his largest single-month stock sell-off. According to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, this is Huang's first monthly sale of 1.3 million shares this year. It is estimated that this batch of stocks is valued at close to $169 million, setting his personal record for single-month stock cash-out.

Coincidentally, Nvidia's stock price soared this month, with its market value exceeding $3 trillion at one point, surpassing companies like Apple and Microsoft to become the world's largest. As of the close of U.S. stocks on Wednesday, the stock rose 4.57% to $128.28, with a year-to-date increase of 166.31%. Meanwhile, Huang's net worth has more than doubled (to $63.7 billion) over the past six months, ranking 13th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a fortune of $107.7 billion.

3. Kioxia at Full Capacity, Set to Mass-Produce Advanced NAND Flash Products in July

MoneyDJ, July 4 - Kioxia's production line utilization rate reportedly rebounded to 100% in June, with plans to mass-produce the most advanced storage chips (NAND Flash) in July to meet the rapidly increasing data storage demand driven by the proliferation of generative AI. The advanced NAND Flash products set for mass production stack 218 layers of data storage elements, offering approximately 50% more storage capacity and reducing the power required for data writing by about 30% compared to current products.

4. Samsung Slows Down Automotive Semiconductor Development, Focuses on AI Chips

BusinessKorea, July 4 - Samsung's System LSI division, responsible for chip design, is undergoing a business and organizational restructuring to prioritize the development of AI chips. Staff involved in the development of the automotive processor "Exynos Auto" (codenamed KITT3) have been reassigned within the division to the AI system-on-chip (SoC) team, which is now the focal point of Samsung's design efforts. Currently, this team consists of 100-150 specialized designers dedicated to AI chip design.

5. Apple Joins TSMC's SoIC Semiconductor Packaging Clients After AMD, Aiming for Macs by Next Year

Taiwan Economic Daily, July 4 - Following AMD, Apple has expanded its collaboration with TSMC on SoIC packaging solutions, integrating SoIC with Hybrid Molding technology. The company is currently in small-scale trial production, with mass production expected between 2025 and 2026, planning to apply the technology in Macs.

Reports indicate that TSMC's CoWoS series production capacity is tight. Besides expanding its factory capacity, TSMC is also cooperating with other packaging and testing plants to increase production capacity. TSMC is promoting the next-generation SoIC packaging solution, which began small-scale production in 2022, with plans to expand production capacity by more than 20 times by 2026.

6. TrendForce: FOPLP Technology for AI, GPU Mass Production Expected Between 2027-2028

Tonghuashun, July 3 - TrendForce reports that since Q2, chip manufacturers such as AMD have actively approached TSMC and OSAT providers to use FOPLP technology for chip packaging. The current development of FOPLP packaging technology for consumer IC and AI GPU applications is expected to reach mass production timelines between H2 2024 to 2026 and 2027-2028, respectively.

7. ASML, NXP, and Other Semiconductor Companies Seek Increased Investment from the New Dutch Cabinet

Dutch media NOS, July 4 - The interest group ChipNL has submitted a joint letter to the new Dutch cabinet led by Prime Minister Dick Schoof, requesting increased government investment in the chip sector. ChipNL comprises over 30 Dutch semiconductor companies, including ASML, NXP, Nexperia, Philips, and deposition process key player ASM.

ChipNL urges the Schoof cabinet to invest €100-150 million annually in the semiconductor field over the next six years. These companies promise to allocate €100-200 million annually from their budgets, with a total amount possibly reaching €2.1 billion. This funding will deepen cooperation among upstream and downstream companies in the Dutch chip industry.

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