Zero One Investment Research Daily Intelligence Brief, September 24, 2026

TSMC to lift wafer prices up to 6% in January as China audits Broadcom

Top Market Signals

TSMC raises 2027 wafer prices 3% to 6%

TSMC (2330 TT) is reported to be planning to raise wafer prices by about 3% to 6% from January 2027, with the largest increases on 2nm and 3nm, according to supply chain sources cited by DigiTimes. TSMC said it does not comment on market rumors.

The increase is set node by node rather than across the board. Mature and specialty processes will be negotiated product by product, depending on utilization and the customer, while quotes from the Arizona fab stay high to cover its manufacturing cost. DigiTimes reports 8 inch utilization above 100%, processes at 45nm and below fully loaded, and order visibility out to 2030.

Cost is the second driver. The supply chain estimates a US fab costs four to five times as much to build as one in Taiwan, and TSMC has said the early 2nm ramp dilutes gross margin by about 3 to 4 percentage points, with overseas fabs adding about 2 to 3 points of pressure over the next several years. Chip designers told DigiTimes that high-end GPU and ASIC products can pass the increase on, while mature microcontrollers, power management chips and consumer parts face more competition and may absorb part of it.

TSMC is now moving in the same direction as the rest of the foundry industry. Our 21 September edition carried UMC saying next year's price adjustments would be larger and broader than those in 2H26 if supply and demand hold. DigiTimes now reports Vanguard's 8 inch lines running above 90% utilization with three to five months of order visibility. Mature and specialty nodes are priced customer by customer, so the size of the increases there will show how far AI demand has reached down the node range.

Linked stocks: 2330 TT, 2303 TT, 5347 TT

China audits Broadcom switches in state data centers

China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) has spent recent weeks counting how many Broadcom (AVGO US) switches its state-owned data centers use, the Financial Times reported. One source said the preliminary finding put Broadcom's penetration among state enterprises as high as 90%, which could lead to informal guidance to cut it.

The audit supports a push for Chinese public bodies to use domestically made chips. NVIDIA (NVDA US) products are already barred from state-backed data centers, but those sites still hold large numbers of Broadcom switches, the high-end networking chips that move data between servers during AI training. The regulator is also examining whether Broadcom bundled other products or required bulk orders of tens of thousands of switch chips, terms that made it hard for data center builders H3C and Ruijie Networks to buy from Huawei and other suppliers.

The limits have practical boundaries. A data center rack maker's sales representative said the potential restrictions do not apply to privately run sites such as those of ByteDance and Alibaba, and installed equipment will not be removed. Industry experts also said Huawei's switches are less energy efficient than Broadcom's, which raises power bills for users. Whether SASAC turns the finding into written guidance, and whether it reaches past state sites, will set how much of Broadcom's China networking business is exposed.

Linked stocks: AVGO US, NVDA US

YMTC wins German injunctions against Micron

A Munich court ruled on 18 September that Micron (MU US) infringed two of YMTC's German utility models covering 3D NAND flash, the memory used in solid state drives, and granted injunctions that could restrict Micron's supply into Germany. Micron said it disagrees, has appealed, and is challenging the validity of the patents in separate cases.

The rulings are first-instance and can be suspended if Micron wins at the Munich Higher Regional Court. YMTC filed five cases in Munich in late 2025, and the court adjourned the other three. The dispute began in 2023 when YMTC sued Micron in California over eight 3D NAND patents and now spans more than 20 patents across China, the US, the UK and Germany. Seven of the disputed patents have already been declared invalid.

A Chinese supplier is now using a European court to limit a US rival's access to the same market. The Munich Higher Regional Court appeal decides whether the injunctions take effect for Micron's German sales.

Linked stocks: MU US

Kinik sells more per wafer as nodes shrink

Kinik (1560 TT), which makes the diamond disks that resurface polishing pads in chip fabs, reported a 2Q26 gross margin of 40.05%, its highest in 15 quarters, and first half EPS up more than 70% YoY, according to Uanalyze analysis carried by cnYES. August revenue was a record for the third month running.

The growth comes from rising consumption per wafer. Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) flattens each layer of a chip, and the number of CMP steps rises from about 30 to 40 at 5nm to more than 50 at 2nm and 77 at A16, the TSMC node that adds backside power delivery. At the same time, a diamond disk that lasts 2,000 to 3,000 uses on mature processes wears out after about 600 on advanced ones. Kinik holds about 70% of its main customer's N3 business and about 80% of N2.

Capacity is running ahead of plan. Diamond disk output reached the 60,000 a month planned for the end of 2026 in June, is at 62,000 in 3Q26 and is heading above 70,000 by year end, with a 2027 target of 90,000 to 100,000. Reclaimed wafer capacity hit 400,000 a month in 3Q26 and is fully booked, and Kinik has started raising prices there. With both lines short and visibility reported to 2030, how fast new plants are built and staffed is what sets Kinik's growth.

Linked stocks: 1560 TT, 2330 TT

ITEQ earns 72% of 2Q26 profit in August

ITEQ (6213 TT), a maker of copper clad laminate (CCL), the base material for printed circuit boards, reported self-assessed August net profit up 852.58% YoY, with EPS of NT$2.54. That single month equals 72.15% of its 2Q26 profit.

Two causes are named: laminate prices keep rising, and mid to high-end products are taking a fast-growing share of sales, according to Liberty Times. Analysts add the expansion of ITEQ's new Thailand plant and AI demand. A US broker told Economic Daily News that August profit alone reached 52% of the market's consensus estimate for the whole third quarter, and described the result as positive for the laminate industry.

Price and mix are both working, and the sources do not split them. Our 22 September edition carried Topoint, the PCB drill bit maker, attributing its margin gain to product mix while ruling out a broad price increase in 2H26. ITEQ's September revenue, due by 10 October, will show whether August's sales momentum carried into the rest of the quarter.

Linked stocks: 6213 TT, 2383 TT, 2368 TT

Advantech's US orders run at twice shipments

Advantech (2395 TT), Taiwan's largest industrial computer maker, said its US book-to-bill ratio reached 2.15 at the end of August against 1.47 for the group, and expects it to stay around 2 through year end, North America general manager Niu Wen-chung told Economic Daily News. A ratio above 1 means orders are arriving faster than the company can ship.

North America revenue was US$432m in 1H26, 29% of the group, and was up about 52% YoY through August. Niu expects 2H26 to be at least 50% above 1H26, putting full year North America revenue within reach of US$1bn. US design wins, the new projects that turn into revenue later, were US$400m for all of 2025 and already exceeded that in 1H26.

The fastest growing customer group is semiconductors, where chipmakers expanding capacity have lifted Advantech's North America orders. Niu expects that business to grow 70% this year and 120% next, which would bring it close to medical, Advantech's largest US market. To catch up with orders, the new Southern California headquarters opens in October, with local capacity running since May, and staff are being paid bonuses to work overtime.

Linked stocks: 2395 TT

先聲 First Word: Exclusives from Chinese-Language Sources

Phison's Pan says only Acer seems spared the DRAM squeeze

Phison (8299 TT) chief executive Pan Chien-cheng said DRAM is the biggest obstacle to putting AI into devices, that buyers cannot always get it even with money, and that from media reports only Acer seems not to be suffering. It is a direct answer to Acer chief Jason Chen's claim, carried in our 21 September edition, that the shortage is narrow. (23 Sep 2026) Source: AI落地遇記憶體供需失衡　群聯潘健成：好像只有宏碁不苦

AI servers lift China Airlines cargo revenue 40% to 50%

China Airlines (2610 TT) expects cargo revenue to grow about 40% to 50% this year, with AI servers and ICT products now its main cargo and North America over 60% of cargo revenue. EVA Airways (2618 TT) puts AI goods at 40% to 50% of its cargo business and plans to grow its freighter fleet from nine to 12 by 2028. (24 Sep 2026) Source: AI伺服器帶旺北美空運 3家國籍航空競逐高科技貨流

Gold Circuit moves from AI switch boards to ASIC main boards

Gold Circuit Electronics (2368 TT) has won a large cloud provider's AI ASIC project, taking it from AI switch boards into ASIC main boards, with 30-plus layer boards shipping from 4Q26. Higher layer counts carry higher selling prices, and analysts expect its Taiwan capacity to rise 50% in 2H26 while Thailand capacity grows five to six times. (24 Sep 2026) Source: 熱門股》Q4高階新品出貨 金像電奔漲停