just! Intel informs customers that price increases may exceed 20%

1. Intel informs customers that prices will increase in the second half of the year, with the highest increase or more than 20%

According to media reports, Intel has notified its customers that it will raise prices for most microprocessor and peripheral chip products in the second half of 2022. Intel said the price hike was necessary this time around due to soaring production and material costs.

Intel plans to raise prices this fall on flagship products such as its market-dominant server and PC processors, as well as on a range of other products including Wi-Fi and other connectivity chips, three industry executives said. The exact price increase has yet to be finalized, but the increase could range from the smallest single digits to more than 10% and 20% in some cases, depending on the product, according to people familiar with the matter.

The report's comments come as Intel's move comes at a time when U.S. and global inflation is soaring. The U.S. reported that consumer prices rose 9.1% in June to a 40-year high. But while rising commodity, material, transportation and labor costs have all weighed on the chip industry, inflation has also clouded the outlook for consumer spending, making Intel's pricing decisions particularly worrisome.

In addition, many of Intel's major PC customers, such as Acer and Asus, have publicly warned of a recession. Acer CEO Jason Chen made it clear on Wednesday that his company is no longer facing chip shortages. "The CEOs of some chip suppliers even called me recently to buy more chips from them," he said. "Things have changed."

Fabless/IDM

2. TSMC’s net profit in the second quarter was approximately US$7.939 billion, a year-on-year increase of 76%

According to media reports, TSMC released its second-quarter financial report. The financial report showed that TSMC’s second-quarter net profit was 237 billion Taiwan dollars, an increase of 76% year-on-year, and an estimated 219.81 billion Taiwan dollars. In the second quarter, the operating profit was 262.12 billion Taiwan dollars, an increase of 80% year-on-year, and the gross profit margin was 59.1%.

TSMC expected sales of $19.8 billion to $20.6 billion in the third quarter, and operating profit margin of 47% to 49% in the third quarter, compared with an estimate of 46.1%. TSMC said customer demand continues to outpace supply capacity; sales (in U.S. dollars) are expected to grow by around 30% in 2022.

TSMC's revenue growth came from the full load of advanced process capacity. From the perspective of process classification, 5nm process shipments accounted for 21% of wafer sales in the second quarter, compared with 18% in the same period last year, and the revenue share further increased; 7nm process shipments accounted for 21% of wafer sales in the second quarter. 30%, compared with 31% in the same period last year. The two accounted for a combined 51%.

Regarding the progress of advanced manufacturing processes, which has attracted much attention from the outside world, at the performance meeting, TSMC President Wei Zhejia said that the company's 3-nanometer manufacturing process will be mass-produced in the second half of this year, and will contribute revenue in the first half of next year; the 2-nanometer manufacturing process will be risky in 2024. Trial production, mass production in 2025.

3. Nvidia will permanently reduce the price of RTX 30 series graphics cards by 20%

Videocardz reported on July 14 that BestBuy, a co-seller of NVIDIA’s official website in North America, began selling the RTX 3090 Ti graphics card at a price of $1,599.99, which is $400 cheaper than the official suggested retail price, or a 20% drop.

According to Benchlife, NVIDIA will officially lower the price of its RTX 30 high-end model as early as this week, the report said. The price cut only seems to affect premium cards (RTX 3080+), there is no mention of cheaper cards being affected.

According to the information, the RTX 3090 Ti is priced at $1,499, which is $500 less than the official MSRP. The RTX 3090 non-Ti price will drop by $200, with a new price tag of $1299. Also, the price of the RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3080 12GB will be affected. Expect at least $100 less for the 3080 Ti model.

4. Chippeng Micro: 1.41 million restricted shares will be lifted and listed on July 22

Chippeng Micro announced on July 15 the "Announcement on the Listing and Circulation of IPO Strategic Allotment Restricted Shares". The number of strategic allotment shares in this listing and circulation is 1.41 million shares, and the restricted period is 24 months from the date of listing of the company's stock. , the total number of shareholders involved in restricted shares is 1, accounting for 1.2460% of the company's total share capital. This part of restricted shares will be listed for circulation from July 22, 2022.

5. Apple's new MacBook Air with M2 chip officially goes on sale today

Global Network Technology reported on July 15, according to Apple's official website, the new MacBook Air equipped with Apple's M2 chip has been officially launched today, with a domestic starting price of 9499 yuan.

It is reported that the M2 MacBook Air has two different processor versions, one is 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, standard 8GB unified memory, 256GB SSD and 30W USB-C charger. The other is an 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, standard 8GB unified memory, 512GB SSD, and 35W dual USB-C port small charger.

In addition, the new MacBook Air is equipped with a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, the whole machine is 11.3mm thick, weighs 1.24kg, and reduces the body size by 20%; the MagSafe charging interface returns, supports 67W fast charging, and the battery life is up to 18 hours.

6. SK hynix: plans to cut capital expenditures in 2023 to nearly $12.2 billion and reconsider expansion plans

Financial Associated Press reported on July 15 that SK Hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker, is considering cutting capital expenditures by about a quarter to 16 trillion won ($12.2 billion) in 2023, according to people familiar with the matter. Coping with slower-than-expected demand for electronics.

SK Hynix is basically on track to spend about 21 trillion won this year to build DRAM and NAND production capacity, people familiar with the matter said. However, uncertainty over falling demand for chips in everything from smartphones to servers has forced the company to reconsider its expansion plans for next year.

Industry trends

7. Analyst: The shortage of semiconductor production capacity will be eased in stages from the end of this year

The Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily reported on July 15 that the latest research report of the ANZ economic research team showed that the cycle of semiconductors has reached its peak, and the year-on-year growth of production capacity is estimated to reach 9-16% in 2022. Since the inventory index has reached the equilibrium point, Shortages have been alleviated, and capacity growth will slow to 4-8% in 2023.

It also pointed out that semiconductors are widely used and shortages are inconsistent, so capacity performance may ease in stages. For example, the production capacity of mature process chips will cross the peak at the end of 2022, while advanced process chips are expected to ease in 2023.

8. The iPhone 14 Pro Max camera protrudes nearly two coins thick, and the 15 Pro Max will be equipped with a periscope lens

Fast Technology reported on July 14 that some netizens recently exposed the drawings of the iPhone 14 Pro Max aluminum plate used for the mold opening of accessories. The picture shows that the iPhone 14 Pro Max will be equipped with a 6.7-inch screen with a measurement size of 160.71×78.58×7.85mm, which is 0.09mm shorter, 0.48mm wider and 0.2mm thicker than the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Source: iPhone 14 Post Bar

Even more frightening is the camera module part, which not only has a larger area but also has a very serious bulge, reaching 4.17mm, which is thicker than two one-yuan coins (1.9mm) stacked together, which may cause the back of the real phone to look very bad. Incongruous.

According to the forecast of Tianfeng International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo on the 14th, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which will be launched in 2023, will start to be equipped with a periscope lens, and the cost of the camera module will increase, and the corresponding supply chain will enter a two-year high-speed growth period.

9. BYD: Net profit in the first half of the year increased by 139%-207%

Financial Associated Press reported on July 14 that BYD released a performance forecast, predicting that the net profit attributable to the parent in the first half of 2022 will be 2.8 billion to 3.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 138.59%-206.76%. In the first half of 2022, BYD's new energy vehicle sales growth momentum was strong, repeatedly hitting record highs, and its market share was far ahead, achieving rapid year-on-year growth, driving a substantial improvement in profitability, and to a certain extent, hedging the profit pressure caused by upstream raw material prices.

In terms of mobile phone components and assembly business, demand in the consumer electronics industry was weak, but the Group's profitability recovered somewhat thanks to improved cost control and product structure adjustment.

Note: Q1 net profit is 810 million yuan. Based on this calculation, it is estimated that Q2 net profit is 1.99 billion yuan to 2.79 billion yuan, an increase of 146%-244% month-on-month.

10. It is reported that Apple's MR headset will be released in early 2023, and the second generation supports the call function

ET News reported on July 14 that Apple plans to launch an extended reality (XR) device in early 2023, but a second-generation device with major upgrades is already in development, with a planned release in 2024.

According to reports, the supplier is ready to start mass production in the fourth quarter of this year, but the initial production is not expected to be large. Apple's XR headset uses a micro-OLED display from Sony and LG Display, and the 3D sensing module is likely to come from LG Innotek. The MR headset will focus on entertainment and gaming, and will also serve as a test kit for better second-generation products. The second generation is expected to be significantly lighter than the first and come equipped with telephony capabilities.

The parts industry, which supplies core components, is expected to benefit greatly if Apple uses XR devices as one of its new growth engines, the report said. Samsung Electronics is expected to enter the market after watching the launch and market impact of the Apple XR.

Stock market sentiment

11. Overview of China-US semiconductor stock market

U.S. Semiconductor Index ETF (SOXX.US)

According to Tencent's self-selected stock data, the US stock semiconductor index ETF (SOXX.US) closed at $360.74 on July 14, an increase of 2.12%, and the total trading volume reached 1.0623 million shares.

Image source: Tencent self-selected stocks