United Microelectronics Corporation

United Microelectronics Corporation shares have soared 250.1% over the past year, far outpacing the industry's 25.8% gain, as improving foundry demand and AI exposure drive optimism. The company's 22/28-nanometer nodes contributed 37% of second-quarter revenues, with 22nm sales hitting another record, and management expects third-quarter wafer shipments to rise by a high single-digit percentage sequentially with capacity utilization exceeding 90%. UMC expects AI-related revenues to approach $300 million in 2026 and exceed $1 billion within three years, and it recently began mass-production delivery of silicon photonics wafers from its 12-inch Singapore facility, with plans to open its own 12-inch silicon photonics platform to broader customers in 2027. Its collaboration with Intel on a 12nm process platform is expected to begin production in Arizona in 2027. The 2026 earnings estimate now stands at $1.23 per share, up 75.7% over the past 60 days, and the stock carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

United Microelectronics Corporation has been upgraded to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), placing it in the top 5% of the more than 4,000 stocks covered by the Zacks rating system. The upgrade reflects an upward trend in earnings estimates, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company rising 75.7% over the past three months. For the fiscal year ending December 2026, United Microelectronics is expected to earn $1.23 per share, unchanged from the year-ago reported figure. Zacks noted that only the top 5% of covered stocks receive a Strong Buy rating and the next 15% receive a Buy rating, and that Zacks Rank #1 stocks have generated an average annual return of +25% since 1988.

United Microelectronics Corporation reported unaudited consolidated net sales for August 2026 of NT$25.04 billion, a 30.71% year-over-year surge from NT$19.16 billion in August 2025. For the first eight months of 2026, cumulative sales reached NT$178.66 billion, up 14.66% from NT$155.82 billion in the same period last year.

United Microelectronics Corporation revised its 2026 capital expenditure upward to $2 billion from $1.5 billion and announced board approval of nearly $5 billion in spending for cleanroom and fab construction across 2026 and 2027. The company will expand cleanroom capacity at its Singapore P4 facility for silicon photonics and construct a new fab in Tainan, Taiwan, for advanced packaging, with the Tainan project representing the P7 and P8 phases of its 12A site. Second-quarter consolidated revenue reached TWD 68.73 billion, a 12.6% sequential increase, while net income attributable to shareholders of the parent was TWD 42.26 billion, boosted by TWD 30 billion in investment and dividend income. Gross margin rose to 32.5% and utilization climbed to 85%, with third-quarter guidance calling for wafer shipments to increase by high single digits, gross margin in the mid-30% range, and utilization exceeding 90%. CEO Jason Wang projected AI-related revenue of approximately $300 million for 2026, with a target to exceed $1 billion within three years, and noted that the addressable market for the company's advanced packaging solutions is expected to more than double by 2030.

United Microelectronics reported unaudited consolidated net sales of NT$23.84 billion for July 2026, an 18.98% increase from NT$20.04 billion in July 2025. For the first seven months of 2026, cumulative revenues reached NT$153.61 billion, up 12.41% from NT$136.66 billion in the same period last year.

United Microelectronics Corp posted a 12.6% quarter-over-quarter revenue increase to NT$68.7 billion in the second quarter of 2026. Gross margin rose more than 3 percentage points to 32.5%, while wafer shipments grew 10.6% driven by communications and consumer demand. The company's 22-nanometer business reached a record 17.5% of sales, and it delivered its first mass-production 12-inch photonics IC. UMC raised its 2026 capital expenditure budget to US$2 billion and expects AI-related revenue to hit approximately $300 million this year.

United Microelectronics Corp has approved an expansion plan that includes additional cleanroom capacity at its Singapore facility and a new fab building at its flagship Tainan campus in Taiwan, raising its 2026 capital expenditure budget to US$2 billion. CEO Jason Wang said the plan will be executed in phases to maintain capital discipline while flexibly deploying capacity to meet customer demand driven by artificial intelligence. The company focuses on mature nodes, unlike TSMC which invests heavily in advanced 2 and 1 nanometre technology. UMC reported second-quarter revenue of T$68.73 billion, up 17% from a year earlier, while net income surged 374.7% to T$42.26 billion. Its shares have risen 120% so far this year, outperforming the broader market's 38.24% gain, though the stock closed down 9.69% on Wednesday ahead of the earnings release.

Wedbush has indicated that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing may raise prices for mature-node manufacturing processes beginning in early 2027, marking the company's first adjustment to mature-node pricing in more than three years. Final pricing decisions are expected later this year. The firm noted that any pricing increase by Taiwan Semiconductor could signal improving conditions across the mature-node foundry market and support stronger industry pricing trends, reflecting healthier demand dynamics for legacy chip production. Wedbush added that other foundry companies, including United Microelectronics, GlobalFoundries, and Tower Semiconductor, could also benefit if industry pricing strengthens.

United Microelectronics has begun mass production of silicon photonics wafers at its Singapore facility, targeting demand for high-speed optical interconnects in AI and hyperscaler data center networks. The milestone was achieved in partnership with SILITH, combining SILITH's proprietary silicon photonics architecture with UMC's 12-inch manufacturing platform, moving from development to production readiness in 18 months. UMC also plans to make its own 12-inch silicon photonics platform available for customer product development by 2027. The company's stock fell nearly 5% in Taiwan during Tuesday's session before paring losses to trade 1.6% lower.

Stock futures edged higher on Monday as traders returned from the long weekend, with crypto-related stocks, Tesla, and United Microelectronics among the biggest movers. United Microelectronics rose 6% after reporting June revenue climbed 22.9% year-over-year to NT$23.1 billion, while first-half 2026 revenue increased 11.3% to NT$129.8 billion. Crypto stocks rallied as Bitcoin topped $63,000 for the first time in two weeks, lifting Strategy by 5% and pushing Circle Internet Group, Riot Platforms, Marathon Digital, Coinbase, and HIVE Digital Technologies up more than 3% each. Tesla gained 2% after expanding its Robotaxi service to Miami, building on last month's Austin launch and following record second-quarter deliveries of 480,126 vehicles. Kosmos Energy surged 5% on strong operational momentum, including the J76 well in Ghana adding about 20,000 barrels of oil per day and lifting Jubilee production above 85,000 barrels per day, while the company reduced net debt by more than $400 million since year-end 2025 to $2.56 billion.

Wedbush has identified United Microelectronics as a potential standout for 2026, arguing that geopolitical shifts pushing chip buyers to diversify supply could benefit the Taiwanese foundry. UMC, Taiwan’s second-largest semiconductor foundry, operates factories in Singapore and Japan, positioning it to capture demand if TSMC moves mature-node work outside Taiwan. The firm rates UMC Outperform with a $12 price target, while the stock has already surged roughly 263% over the past year and 30% in the last five days. In the first quarter of 2026, UMC reported revenue of $1.93 billion, up 7% year-over-year, and net income of $511 million, a 10% jump. CEO Jason Wang noted firming mature-node utilization driven by edge AI and automotive chip designers seeking supply chain resilience.

United Microelectronics shares surged to an all-time high of $28.27 in intraday trading before closing up 14.20 percent at $27.50, driven by an unverified report that the company is partnering with Intel on advanced semiconductor manufacturing. The reported collaboration would focus on 12nm and 3nm process nodes, with production expected at Intel's Arizona facility. United Microelectronics declined to comment on the unverified report. The two companies previously partnered in 2024 on a 12nm process platform targeting mobile, communication infrastructure, and networking markets.