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SMIC reports modest revenue and rising optimism as it navigates demand recovery and geopolitical pressures, with Q1 2026 revenue up 8.1% and management signaling improved full-year visibility. Co-CEO Zhao Haijun’s upbeat guidance and steady order backlogs suggest stronger utilization at the mainland foundry, influencing customers and equipment suppliers. Veteran founder Zhang Rujing urges a pragmatic localization path: prioritize testing and iterating domestic equipment in real workloads and focus on mature and specialty nodes that constitute roughly 80% of market demand rather than chasing 2/3nm exemplars. Together these developments highlight China’s push to scale foundry capability through realistic, market-driven strategies.
SMIC's modest revenue growth and upbeat guidance signal improving demand visibility for foundry customers and equipment suppliers. Zhang Rujing's pragmatic push for domestic equipment validation and focus on mature nodes reshapes China semiconductor priorities.
Dossier last updated: 2026-05-23 08:19:30
Zhang Rujing, founder of SMIC and dubbed “the father of China’s semiconductors,” told CCTV’s Dialogue program that domestic semiconductor equipment must be trialed in small batches despite risks to find and fix issues. He recounted using equipment from domestic supplier AMEC without upfront payment—SMIC absorbed testing and time costs while investors provided the tools—and called such cooperative trials worthwhile. Zhang warned against focusing only on cutting-edge nodes (3nm/2nm), saying that over 80% of market demand is for mature and specialty processes where Chinese firms can compete and break foreign monopolies. His remarks underscore pragmatic strategies for localizing fabs and equipment.
At a Q1 earnings briefing, SMIC co-CEO Zhao Haijun said the company is more optimistic about full-year operations based on customer demand and current order backlog. The comment signals improving visibility for the mainland foundry amid steady demand, which matters for chip supply chains and regional semiconductor competitiveness. SMIC is a key contract manufacturer in China; stronger guidance could influence equipment suppliers, customers across telecom, consumer electronics and automotive, and policy observers tracking domestic semiconductor self-sufficiency. The remark comes as the industry watches demand recovery and capacity allocation, with downstream firms and investors attentive to order flows and utilization at major foundries.
Semiconductor manufacturer SMIC reported 1Q2026 revenue of CNY 17.617 billion, up 8.1% year-over-year, with net profit attributable to shareholders of CNY 1.361 billion, a 0.4% increase. The quarterly earnings release signals modest top-line growth and near-flat profitability amid ongoing global chip demand shifts and geopolitical pressures affecting China’s semiconductor supply chain. As one of China’s leading foundries, SMIC’s results matter for supply, capacity planning, equipment vendors, and domestic tech supply-chain strategies, offering a data point on how Chinese chipmakers are navigating export controls, investment cycles, and demand for mature-node manufacturing.
78 岁中国半导体教父张汝京最新发声：网上很多人执着于 2/3nm 尖端芯片是认知误区，80% 的市场不需要先进制程