Weekly News Bulletin Oct 16, 2026
Weekly Semiconductor Industry News Brief
① TSMC's Q3 Net Profit Hits Record High; Full-Year Revenue Growth Guidance Raised to ~44%
On October 15, TSMC released its Q3 2026 results and held its earnings call. Third-quarter consolidated revenue was NT$1.49 trillion (about US$46.72 billion), up 50.9% YoY, while net profit reached NT$763.06 billion (about US$23.59 billion), up 68.7% YoY—a record high for the sixth consecutive quarter. Gross margin fell to 66.4% from 67.7% in Q2, reflecting heavy depreciation from the start of 2 nm volume production. The 2 nm revenue share rose from 3% to 8% in a single quarter, with nodes at 7 nm and below accounting for 79% of total wafer revenue. Q4 revenue guidance of US$52.3-54.3 billion came in about 6% above market expectations, and full-year US dollar revenue growth guidance was raised to around 44%. Chairman C.C. Wei said AI demand continues to heat up with a still-large supply-demand gap, that "TSMC's profitability has no ceiling," and that the company will expand capacity at full tilt.
② WESEMiBAY 2026 Opens in Shenzhen: 1,000+ Exhibitors, Up 66% YoY
From October 14 to 16, the 2026 Greater Bay Area Semiconductor Industry Ecosystem Expo (WESEMiBAY) was held at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center (Futian). The show covered nearly 80,000 m² and gathered more than 1,000 exhibitors from 22 countries and regions—a 66% YoY increase—alongside over 40 high-level industry forums and more than 30 supply-demand and investment matchmaking sessions, attended by 150 leading scholars and over 500 industry leaders. Focusing on wafer manufacturing equipment, components, materials, advanced packaging, IC design and third-generation semiconductors, the expo saw centralized launches of new technologies, equipment and ecosystem solutions from companies and research institutes including Xinkailai, NAURA, AMEC, Hwatsing, CETC Equipment, Piotech, Advanced Fiber Resources (AFR) and Leadmicro.
③ Hwatsing Unveils Medium-Current Ion Implanter iHQ-900E with 95.6% Domestic Content
On October 14, at the WESEMiBAY opening ceremony and semiconductor industry development summit, Hwatsing (688120.SH) launched its medium-current ion implanter iHQ-900E. Described as the first domestically produced medium-current implanter to surpass foreign competitors on some key metrics, it leads comparable foreign products on implant dose uniformity, angle control, dose rate, beam current and WPH. Running on the company's self-developed software platform, the tool has an overall domestic content ratio of 95.6%, with full localization targeted for 2027. Ion implanters are one of the three core front-end tools in chip manufacturing and, together with lithography systems, have long been among the categories with the lowest localization rates; the medium-current breakthrough marks another step forward in front-end process equipment self-sufficiency.
④ Leadmicro Launches iMagtron PVD Series and Ruthenium ALD Process, Covering All Three Thin-Film Routes
On the same day, Leadmicro unveiled its new iMagtron magnetron sputtering (PVD) series at WESEMiBAY. Featuring a modular design, a single platform covers process node requirements from Cu1 to C74, improving PK LifeTime by more than 50% in applications such as Ta/TaN. The company also released a ruthenium (Ru) process based on its iTomic MeT ALD system, achieving continuous Ru films below 5 nm on a variety of substrates through atomic-level nucleation control, with key metrics reaching production reference levels. Ruthenium is regarded as an important candidate material for next-generation interconnect metals, and its deposition process is a key step at advanced nodes. With this, Leadmicro now covers all three mainstream thin-film deposition technology routes: ALD, CVD and PVD.
⑤ Qiyunfang Debuts China's First System-Level EDA Design Tool Chain
At the joint new-product launch ceremony during the WESEMiBAY opening summit, Qiyunfang unveiled China's first system-level EDA electronic design tool chain, further exploring a systematic design path for domestic industrial software and filling a gap in practical application. EDA is the most upstream design entry point in the semiconductor industry and has long been dominated by three overseas vendors. At this year's expo, domestic players across the chain—from EDA design software, wafer manufacturing equipment, materials and components, to advanced packaging, automotive-grade chips and AI infrastructure—appeared together, illustrating an industry shift from isolated breakthroughs to systematic supply-chain completion.
⑥ AFR Launches High-Performance SiC MOSFETs and Embedded PCB Power Modules for Automotive and AI Data Centers
On October 15, Advanced Fiber Resources (AFR) held its technology launch event in Shenzhen under the theme "Beyond the Summit: A Four-Year Technology Long March." For the automotive main-drive market, the company released its self-developed high-performance SiC MOSFET series (including an 8 mΩ product) and DeepXE embedded PCB power modules; for AI data centers, it introduced a discrete device series based on the mature mass-production PG4E chip along with the EZ2C/3C specialty module family. President Chen Zhongguo said SiC significantly outperforms silicon in high-voltage, high-current power device scenarios, and that rapidly falling costs are accelerating substitution for silicon devices, with core opportunities concentrated above 650 V. He characterized the market as "short term: automotive; long term: AI," noting that SiC devices account for close to half of the value in AI-domain solid-state transformers. Institutional data show the global SiC power semiconductor market reached US$2.79 billion in 2025 and is projected at US$3.5 billion in 2026 and US$21.58 billion in 2034, a 25.52% CAGR over 2026-2034.
⑦ First Domestically Made Fully Automatic SiC Device Wafer Grinder Delivered for Mass Production
On October 15, it was reported that Beijing CETC Company, a subsidiary of China Electronics Technology Group's CETC Equipment, had recently delivered its first domestically developed fully automatic silicon carbide (SiC) device wafer grinder to a leading domestic wafer company for mass-production use. With this, the company now offers a complete solution covering the full SiC flow from ingot and wafer to device wafer. Wafer grinding removes excess substrate material from the wafer backside to reach the thickness required for packaging and improves chip heat dissipation. Because SiC is extremely hard and difficult to grind, backside grinding is a critical process determining device thermal resistance, conduction loss and volume yield. With 800 V platforms spreading rapidly in new energy vehicles, photovoltaic storage standards being upgraded, and AI computing power supply demand being released in concentrated fashion, the compound semiconductor industry has entered a critical window of scaled expansion.
⑧ US Tightens Controls Again: AI Chip Export Restrictions Expanded, FCC Rule Extends Down to the Chip Level
On October 14, the US Department of Commerce announced an expansion of export controls on advanced AI chips and semiconductor equipment. Separately, on October 13, the US Federal Communications Commission's rule FCC 26-50 took effect, stipulating that devices incorporating chips, wireless modules or other logic-capable components produced by entities on the "Covered List"—such as Huawei and ZTE—cannot obtain the FCC certification required to enter the US market. This extends earlier restrictions on end-user equipment down to the component level: even when a final product is not made by a listed entity, using its hardware internally may exclude the product from the US market. Analysts note that such pressure is pushing China's supply chain to accelerate domestic substitution.
⑨ Q4 Memory Contract Price Forecasts Revised Up Across the Board; HBM Seen Rising 80%-100% in Q1
Mid-October channel checks show Q4 2026 memory contract price forecasts revised upward across the board: DRAM QoQ growth raised from 3%-8% to 10%-15%; NAND flash raised from 0%-5% to 15%-20%; overall DRAM including HBM seen up 15%-20% QoQ; and enterprise SSD up 23%-28% for the quarter. KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh, following an Asia research trip, expects HBM prices to rise 80%-100% QoQ in Q1 2027, DRAM to rise 15%-20% QoQ in Q4 2026, and NAND about 20%. Suppliers are also shifting capacity heavily toward data centers, which is expected to reduce memory supply for PCs and smartphones by 20%-30% next year. On supply lock-in, HP and Dell have extended agreements to 2031, while Google is negotiating a long-term agreement extending to 2035.
⑩ Regulations on the Protection of Integrated Circuit Layout Designs Take Effect October 15
According to reports, the Regulations on the Protection of Integrated Circuit Layout Designs officially took effect on October 15, 2026. Layout design—the physical design of a chip—is the core intellectual output of the IC industry; the regulations further improve China's IP protection framework for integrated circuits and echo recent domestic court rulings such as the BAW filter patent infringement case, providing stronger legal safeguards for chip design innovation. On the policy front, four ministries have also launched applications for the 2026 list of IC enterprises eligible for the VAT additional deduction policy.
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