Overview
- Co-CEO Zhao Haijun reported that U.S. tariff policy failed to inflict the “hard landing” SMIC initially feared
- Contingency plans enacted after reciprocal April duties are expected to keep new tariff costs below 10% for overseas customers despite President Trump’s proposed 100% chip import levy
- Second-quarter revenue climbed 16.2% year-on-year to $2.2 billion while profit fell 19.5% to $132.5 million, missing analysts’ forecasts and triggering a more than 5% drop in Hong Kong shares
- China remained the dominant market with 84% of SMIC’s Q2 sales while the U.S. contribution rose slightly to 12.9%
- Strong domestic substitution demand has pushed capacity utilization to near full tilt and is projected to remain tight until October