China's JCET expects stronger first-half earnings as global demand tied to artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure lifts semiconductor activity. The outlook signals continued momentum in chip packaging and testing, a sector closely watched by investors because it reflects broader technology spending trends that affect supply chains across Asia, the US, and Europe.
Lenovo, responding to recent reporting that its ThinkBook 14 G9 IPL business notebook uses solid-state drives (SSDs) from Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), stressed that the unit dismantled and tested in the report was a German-spec model, not a US version. The company said all notebooks shipped to the US market do not contain SSDs from YMTC, refuting claims that the Chinese supplier had entered the US PC supply chain.
SK Siltron has begun volume production and customer shipments from a KRW2.3 trillion (approx. US$1.54 billion) expansion of its Gumi wafer plant in South Korea, Newsis reported, as the company ramps up supplies of 300mm silicon wafers used to manufacture advanced memory chips.
Tongfu Microelectronics said its first-half profit is likely to climb sharply, reflecting broader gains in semiconductor demand that could matter for global chip supply chains, AI infrastructure builders, and memory market watchers. The company pointed to stronger utilization, higher sales of mid- to high-end products, and investment returns as key drivers of the expected increase.
Apple's MacBook Neo is selling briskly, lifting the company's notebook brand shipments by more than 10% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, but supply shortages are emerging as a major risk. Supply-chain sources had expected MacBook Neo shipments to reach 10 million units in 2026, but a key component bottleneck could weigh on sales.
Major cloud service providers (CSPs) have front-loaded purchases of future DRAM capacity, and the global memory supply-demand gap is expected to last through 2027. Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing (PSMC) said on a July 14, 2026, online earnings call that it raised DRAM wafer start prices in July by about 45% from June, with the increase expected to flow into revenue and profit from November, while 8-inch and 12-inch logic foundry prices also rose 10-15%.
Wingtech Technology said its first-half 2026 results are likely to swing to a loss, reflecting the impact of restricted control over its Nexperia unit in Europe. The outlook matters for global electronics supply chains, where any prolonged disruption at a major semiconductor supplier could affect customers, investors, and component availability worldwide.
Samsung Electronics has yet to receive a volume-production order from Nvidia for HBM4 chips, with its HBM revenue from the AI chipmaker so far limited to paid evaluation samples, Dealsite reported, citing semiconductor industry sources.
Global sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment are on pace to reach an unprecedented US$165.9 billion in 2026, a 23.2% jump from the previous year, according to industry association SEMI's mid-year forecast. This growth is expected to continue in the coming years as AI reshapes the chip industry's investment landscape.
SK Hynix has begun placing orders with major suppliers for advanced DRAM manufacturing equipment for the first phase of its Yongin Y1 fab, with the initial installation expected to support production of about 20,000 wafers per month, according to ZDNet Korea, which cited semiconductor and equipment industry sources.
A South Korean court has partially granted Samsung Electronics' request to prevent two former NAND flash design employees from working for rival SK Hynix or its affiliates until April 30, 2027, Yonhap News Agency reported.
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