[2026 Q3 Earnings Report] Analysis of Financial Performance of Major Chinese Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Companies

The quarterly report reveals that the company’s high-end products—designed for critical etching processes in advanced logic and memory device manufacturing—saw a significant increase in new shipments. Multiple key etching processes have achieved mass production in both advanced logic and memory devices, constituting the primary driver of revenue growth. The company attributes its substantial year-on-year increase in net profit attributable to shareholders to three factors: (1) revenue growth drove gross profit up by approximately RMB 1.021 billion year-on-year; (2) R&D expenses totaled RMB 3.222 billion, up 27.70% year-on-year and accounting for 31.20% of revenue—significantly higher than the average for STAR Market-listed companies; and (3) gains from fair value changes and investment income related to external equity investments amounted to approximately RMB 1.94 billion, versus RMB 349 million in the same period last year—including investment gains of approximately RMB 953 million from the partial sale of shares in Topray Technology. ・Topray Technology Topray Technology reported RMB 5.22 billion in revenue for the first three quarters of 2026, up 23.7% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 2.431 billion, up 336.8% year-on-year. Approximately RMB 1.6 billion of the profit increase stemmed from fair value changes in trading financial assets. The quarterly report cites two direct reasons: (1) economies of scale from expanded production, combined with the mass production and application of new products and new process equipment, effectively lowered per-unit production costs—gross profit increased by approximately RMB 770 million year-on-year, and gross margin rose by about 8.37 percentage points, significantly enhancing product profitability; and (2) fair value gains from trading financial assets increased by approximately RMB 1.616 billion year-on-year. ・Changchuan Technology Changchuan Technology reported RMB 5.942 billion in revenue for the first three quarters of 2026, up 57.2% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 1.765 billion, up 103.9% year-on-year. Nearly all profits originated from core operations, with non-recurring gains accounting for less than 3%—making it the company with the highest-quality growth among equipment manufacturers. The quarterly report states that revenue growth was primarily driven by sustained increases in sales demand; cost of sales rose 52.65%, below revenue growth, reflecting emerging economies of scale; other income totaled RMB 334 million, up 133.68% year-on-year, mainly due to increased software tax rebates and government project subsidies; and credit impairment losses increased due to higher accounts receivable balances. On a quarterly basis, Q3 revenue reached RMB 2.481 billion, up 53.9% year-on-year, while net profit attributable to shareholders hit RMB 801 million, up 82.7% year-on-year—continuing the accelerating growth trend. Outstanding Companies – Semiconductor Materials ・Lion Semi Lion Semi reported RMB 3.32 billion in revenue for the first three quarters of 2026, up 25.8% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 174 million, reversing from a loss of RMB 108 million in the same period last year; EBITDA stood at RMB 1.237 billion, up 55.2% year-on-year. The quarterly report attributes this performance improvement to the ongoing recovery in semiconductor industry fundamentals, growing downstream customer demand, and the company’s intensified market expansion efforts and optimization of its product mix. By product line: revenue from semiconductor silicon wafers—the core business—reached RMB 2.534 billion, up 28.2% year-on-year, equivalent to 18.1706 million 6-inch wafers sold, up 26.4% year-on-year; revenue from semiconductor power device chips totaled RMB 713 million, up 12.4% year-on-year, with 1.7115 million units sold, up 18.7% year-on-year; and revenue from compound semiconductor RF and optoelectronic chips amounted to RMB 278 million, up 29.8% year-on-year, with 34,300 units sold, up 36.8% year-on-year.

Jiwei Consulting Releases ‘2026 Electronic Specialty Gases Industry Research Report’

Electronic specialty gases represent a highly barrier-intensive industry: certification cycles in the integrated circuit sector—requiring dual approval from both wafer fabs and equipment manufacturers—typically last two to three years, with extremely high trial-and-error costs. Domestic enterprises have now achieved breakthroughs across four core technological segments—gas purification, gas mixing, gas handling, and gas detection—with some gases reaching 9N purity levels, mixing accuracy controlled within ±2‰, and detection sensitivity as fine as 0.1 ppb. According to the report, China’s domestic electronic specialty gas localization rate has risen from 9% in 2018 to 14% in 2020, and is projected to reach 25% by 2025. Structurally, basic specialty gases are largely localized; mid-tier etching gases are undergoing accelerated substitution; while high-end doping gases and advanced-process specialty gases remain heavily reliant on imports. Substitution progress is solid: Wuhan Huat Special Gas Co., Ltd. has achieved import substitution for 57 gas products, over 20 of which are supplied to 14 nm and 7 nm advanced-process production lines, and its coverage rate among domestic 8-inch and 12-inch wafer fab customers exceeds 90%; CSSC Special Gases supplies ultra-high-purity nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃) and tungsten hexafluoride (WF₆) stably to leading global clients including TSMC, Micron, SK Hynix, Infineon, and BOE. On the policy front, the ‘15th Five-Year Plan’ outlines semiconductors as the top priority among ten emerging industries and new赛道 (‘race tracks’), explicitly identifying ‘electronic gases’ as a core segment requiring breakthroughs in the integrated circuit supply chain. Figure 3: Evolution of China’s Electronic Specialty Gas Localization Rate China’s Capacity Is Reshaping the Global Fluorinated Specialty Gas Supply Landscape The global electronic specialty gas market has long been dominated by four giants—Linde, Air Liquide, Air Products, and Taiyo Nippon Sanso—collectively holding ~80% market share. However, China’s capacity is now reshaping the supply landscape for fluorinated specialty gases. According to the report, in the nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃) segment, CSSC Special Gases holds the world’s largest capacity at 18,500 tons/year—accounting for ~27% globally—ranking first; Nanjing University Optoelectronics and China National Chemical Corporation (CNNC) hold ~13% and ~12%, respectively; collectively, Chinese producers account for nearly 60% of global NF₃ capacity. In tungsten hexafluoride (WF₆), CSSC Special Gases and South Korea’s SK Specialty each hold ~22% of global capacity, jointly ranking first. In hexafluorobutadiene (C₄F₆), CNNC, with an annual capacity of 1,200 tons, is the world’s largest supplier. In photolithography gases, Wuhan Huat Special Gas Co., Ltd. is the only domestic company certified by both ASML and Gigaphoton. Figure 4: Global Nitrogen Trifluoride (NF₃) Capacity Competitive Landscape Figure 5: Global Tungsten Hexafluoride (WF₆) Capacity Competitive Landscape Overseas Supply Contraction Coupled with AI-Driven Expansion Fuels Volume and Price Growth in Fluorinated Specialty Gases On the demand side, the AI computing power boom is currently the strongest growth driver. According to TrendForce, AI-related main chips and peripheral ICs will continue to lead global foundry output in 2026, with total industry output value expected to grow 24.8% year-on-year to approximately USD 218.8 billion; global WF₆ consumption has surged from 4,620 tons in 2020 to 8,901 tons in 2025—a CAGR of ~14%; and the global NF₃ market size is estimated at ~USD 2.9 billion in 2025, projected to reach USD 6.23 billion by 2036. Display panels and photovoltaics constitute the second and third growth engines: the global display panel market is forecast to reach RMB 141.24 billion in 2025, with China now the world’s largest display panel producer; global PV installations in 2025 are expected to reach 698 GW, up 15.95% year-on-year—generating sustained, stable demand for specialty gases such as NF₃, silane (SiH₄), and ultra-pure ammonia (NH₃) from display and PV manufacturing.

AI Chip Demand Powers Third-Quarter Growth at Chemical, Industrial Gas Makers

17 hours ago

European chemical and industrial gas giants including Syensqo, Linde, and Air Liquide beat Q3 earnings forecasts driven by surging AI chip demand. Companies are ramping up investments and capacity to supply essential ultra-pure gases and specialty chemicals for semiconductor production.

reuters

2026-11-05

AI Chip Demand Powers Third-Quarter Growth at Chemical, Industrial Gas Makers

AI Chip Demand Powers Third-Quarter Growth at Chemical, Industrial Gas Makers

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