{"id":2050,"date":"2021-09-25T23:55:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-25T15:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/?p=2050"},"modified":"2026-07-25T10:06:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T02:06:30","slug":"the-lucrative-semiconductor-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/25\/the-lucrative-semiconductor-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"The lucrative semiconductor supply chain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I thought for a long time and wanted to write some articles about investment in the semiconductor industry, because this is really an important industry to all people no matter you are an investor or not. Considering many factors, I will write this summary today, and then I will write about other semiconductor sub-industries later. Regarding the semiconductor chip industry, I suggest you to refer to the description of my following blog articles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The most important of which is that most people have many misconceptions about semiconductors. It is recommended that you refer to my other blog article &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/05\/07\/semiconductor-investment\/\">6 common wrong semiconductor investment myths<\/a>&#8221; for the explanation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/01\/25\/global-semiconductor-chip-market-in-detail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Global semiconductor chip market in detail<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/25\/the-lucrative-semiconductor-industry\/#The_universality_of_semiconductors\" >The universality of semiconductors<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/25\/the-lucrative-semiconductor-industry\/#The_semiconductor_industrys_investment_return_is_excellent\" >The semiconductor industry&#8217;s investment return is excellent<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/25\/the-lucrative-semiconductor-industry\/#Semiconductor_investment_is_too_difficult_for_average_people\" >Semiconductor investment is too difficult for average people<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/25\/the-lucrative-semiconductor-industry\/#Semiconductor_industry_supply_chain\" >Semiconductor industry supply chain<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/25\/the-lucrative-semiconductor-industry\/#Characteristics_of_the_semiconductor_industry_chain\" >Characteristics of the semiconductor industry chain<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/25\/the-lucrative-semiconductor-industry\/#The_semiconductor_industry_is_still_controlled_by_US\" >The semiconductor industry is still controlled by U.S.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/25\/the-lucrative-semiconductor-industry\/#Related_articles\" >Related articles<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_universality_of_semiconductors\"><\/span><strong>The universality of semiconductors<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The main reason for the hesitation in thinking about it for a long time is that the hardware industry is not easy for ordinary people to understand compared to the software industry, unlike the software industry. Because of my work and career, I happened to spend most of my time in these industries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have a deep understanding of these three fields (software, hardware devices, semiconductors), and I have been thinking about how to be able to see it as an average investor. Understandable text, describing the relationship between these three industries and the impact on investors. And the semiconductor is a more specialized sub-industry in the hardware industry, and it is even more difficult to understand. There are many reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As I said in section 3-2 of the book &#8220;The Rules of Super Growth Stocks Investing&#8221;, software is ubiquitous and not only easy for ordinary people to understand, because it is closely related to modern life, the top few stocks in the stock markets of various countries are all software in a broad sense. Stock  investors are unlikely to know nothing about software listed companies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The hardware industry, especially the semiconductor industry, has considerable barriers to entry, and it is unlikely that ordinary investors will figure it out on their own. It is really not easy to understand some main terms or concepts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Investors do not understand things, companies that are not in their own circle of competence, investors are unlikely to make a lot of money from them. This principle is also repeatedly emphasized by many successful investors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However, semiconductors actually have a significant relationship with modern people, but ordinary people don&#8217;t know it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Without semiconductors, there would be no computers and mobile phones. The popularization of technology evolution in the past 40 years cannot be achieved by mankind.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To a certain extent, semiconductors are &#8220;software&#8221; that can be seen, but cannot be modified, and run at a faster speed. Yes, you read correctly. Semiconductor chips are another form of software.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_semiconductor_industrys_investment_return_is_excellent\"><\/span><strong>The semiconductor industry&#8217;s investment return is excellent<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For investors, the semiconductor industry should not be ignored for a simple reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Many companies in the semiconductor industry are highly competitive, many companies have substantial monopolies, and the moat is very wide; especially for companies that have existed for a long time, their products are very low in substitution.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The average investment rate of the semiconductor industry is much better than that of other industries. Even in the technology industry, the valuation of chip design companies in particular is very high, some chip design companies even have higher than that of software companies. I also mentioned this in section 3-2 of the book &#8220;The Rules of Super Growth Stocks Investing&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Companies in the semiconductor industry are among the very few listed companies in the technology industry that will distribute dividends, and their yields are generally not bad, and even some monopolistic companies have yields higher than the S&amp;P 500 average (pure software companies are stingy if compare to semiconductor industry). The reason is simple, there is an endless supply of cash.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Semiconductor_investment_is_too_difficult_for_average_people\"><\/span><strong>Semiconductor investment is too difficult for average people<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Everyone knows that Buffett does not invest in technology stocks because he is not in his ability circle; but most people know that this is because he is already well-known, even the richest man, and after he became friends with Bill Gates, he often cited his lack of knowledge of the technology industry as a reason. For example, we do not invest in Microsoft (ticker: MSFT) and Intel (ticker: INTC). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But few people know that he was a member of the board of directors of Green College for free in his early days, assisting in investment matters. Intel\u2019s founder, Robert Noyce, was an alumnus of Grinnell College. When Intel was first founded, he offered his alma mater a large share of stock subscription opportunities, which allowed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.valueinvestingworld.com\/2016\/06\/grinnell-college-and-selling-too-early.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Green College to make a lot of money at the time of Intel\u2019s IPO<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The important thing is, by Buffett\u2019s shrewdness, if Intel is within the scope of his ability circle, he will not miss it, of course, all this is negative, he also missed the opportunity to make money from it (please note that I personally don\u2019t think Buffett himself would think he missed Intel&#8217;s IPO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another investment guru Peter Lynch also admitted that he didn&#8217;t understand what semiconductors are at all (he only had VLSI in his era), and used this as an example to remind investors that they must invest within their own ability circle to succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Semiconductor_industry_supply_chain\"><\/span><strong>Semiconductor industry supply chain<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are six areas for the semiconductor industry, including software design  tools, chip designers (processor, memory, communication, car chips, Analog chips), materials, foundry, and package and testing, and manufacturing equipment. According to this principle, the semiconductor industry can be divided into several main categories. The following are only preliminary categories. Only the most important first few representative manufacturers in each category are listed here, so that ordinary investors can better Easy to understand:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Sub-category<\/td><td>Main business<\/td><td>Typical companies (ticker)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Software design tools <\/td><td>Chip design tools   <\/td><td>CDNS, SNPS, SIEGY,  ANSS, KEYS<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Processor<\/td><td>HPC, x86, ARM, GPU<\/td><td>INTC, NVDA, AAPL, AMD, ARM(SFTBY)  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Memory<\/td><td>Memory and storage<\/td><td>SSNLF, SK Hynix(KRX:&nbsp;000660), MU, TOSYY, WDC, INTC<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Communication<\/td><td>Modem, wireless commmunication, radio frequency, base station<\/td><td>QCOM, AVGO, MTK(TPE:2454), SSNLF,<br> AAPL, HiSilicon, UniSoc(SHA:000938), AVGO, SWKS ,QRVO, NXPI, INTC, ZTE (SHA:000063) <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Car IC<\/td><td>MCU, IGBT, Sensor<\/td><td>IFNNY, STM, ADI, NXPI, MCHP, ROHCY, ON, RNECY, TXN, SONY <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Analog IC<\/td><td>PMIC, DSP, Audio, Video<\/td><td>TXN, ADI, CRUS, Dialog(FWB market DLG), MTK(TPE:2454),Realtek(TPE:&nbsp;2379) <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Foundry<\/td><td>Chip manufacture<\/td><td>TSM, SSNLF, SMIC (HKG:0981), UMC, GFS, INTC <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Semiconductor equipment<\/td><td>Semiconductor equipment providers<\/td><td>ASML, AMAT, LRCX, KLAC, SMEE (SHA:688981), Advanced Micro (SHA:688012) , please see my post of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/08\/semiconductor-equipment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Top five semiconductor equipment providers<\/a>&#8220;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Package and testing<\/td><td>Chip package and testing<\/td><td>AMKR, ASX, JCET(SHA:600584)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Semiconductor materials<\/td><td>Semiconductor materials   <\/td><td>DD,Tokyo Ohka Kogyo(TYO:4186), SOMMY,JSCPY,TOELY, SUOPY, Global Wafers(TPE:6488),AJINY,FUJIY,Sumitomo Bakelite(TYO:4203)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Characteristics_of_the_semiconductor_industry_chain\"><\/span><strong>Characteristics of the semiconductor industry chain<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are some obvious differences between the semiconductor industry chain and other industries:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Most of the sub-categories of the semiconductor industry chain have high barriers to entry. And companies in these categories with high barriers to entry have existed for a long time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Remind everyone that the top two or three in almost every category have a certain degree of strong moat; even monopoly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The semiconductor industry chain has a special feature. It is the basic component of hardware terminal products to end consumers, and there are thousands of components in a typical modern device. The main key components go wrong, even if the other thousands of components are okay, they can\u2019t be shipped. Therefore, the management of the supply chain is always the highest priority.  I highlighted this in section 3-2 of my book &#8220;The Rules of Super Growth Stocks Investing&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Since the components come from different manufacturers, it is necessary to spend a lot of time on parameter tuning to find the most appropriate (may not necessarily be the best) combination of the overall matching effect, so that consumers can achieve the best end-use experience. Therefore, once a component is used, unless there is a special reason (the probability is very low), no one is willing to ask for trouble (and is not allowed) to replace it with a component of a competitor with the same function, and redo the product adjustment process that has been obtained for many years. Once again, because the unknown risk is too great, consumers may even be sued in court for liability. Samsung\u2019s battery explosion is a vivid example. After the package was released, Samsung lost $1 billion and lost all the Note series phones that were once Samsung\u2019s second largest source of cash flow. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Because electronic originals have a service life and cannot be recycled, that is, finished semiconductor products are disposable products, which are not environmentally friendly, but it is a good thing for manufacturers. In terms of the way a certain product is adopted, the semiconductor industry chain is also considered a subscription system. Four or five years ago, I installed the Windows programs I wrote 25 years ago and many software packages at that time on the latest version of Windows 10, and they all still work (the personal software industry used a one-time buyout 20 years ago. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After paying a sum of money for the software, it is yours. You can use it as long as you like); but the hardware components are not available, let alone after 20 years, even ten years are difficult, most of the electronic components are broken. According to the statistics of the market research company Statista, the life of iPhone can reach 6 years, and that of Android phones is about half; Apple\u2019s own suggestion: Apple gives this answer-MacBook and Apple TV have a lifespan of 4 years, and iPhone and iPad have a lifespan of 3 years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"194\" height=\"109\" src=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/s-1600x1200-3.jpg\" alt=\"semiconductor \" class=\"wp-image-14023\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_semiconductor_industry_is_still_controlled_by_US\"><\/span><strong>The semiconductor industry is still controlled by U.S.<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The last thing to remind everyone is: Don\u2019t be overwhelmed by TSMC\u2019s current achievements in wafer foundry. TSMC only accounts for more than half of its manufacturing and listing, and its main technologies and suppliers are in the hands of Americans. In a word, the semiconductor industry is still firmly controlled by the Americans, and most of the money in this industry is made by American companies, and this will continue to be the case in the mid to long-term foreseeable future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_articles\"><\/span>Related articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/12\/11\/semiconductor-packaging\/\">Semiconductor packaging market is undergoing fundamental changes<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/09\/10\/chip-war-talk-about\/\">What does book &#8220;Chip War&#8221; talk about?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/07\/24\/teradyne-semi-ate-leader\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/07\/24\/teradyne-semi-ate-leader\/\">Teradyne, semiconductor back-end automated test equipment leader<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/06\/28\/how-klac-makes-money\/\">How KLAC makes money, the largest equipment supplier for chip quality control<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/11\/08\/advanced-packaging-is-semiconductors-next-golden-goose\/\">Advanced Packaging is semiconductor&#8217;s next golden goose<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/18\/camtek-equipment\/\">Camtek: A little-known but outstanding semiconductor equipment supplier&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/10\/01\/how-many-fab-does-tsmc-have\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How many fabs and houses does TSMC have currently and in the future?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/09\/28\/how-does-onto-make-money\/\">How does Onto make money? Advanced packaging beneficiary<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/09\/06\/what-are-silicon-photonics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What are silicon photonics? Why it&#8217;s important? and current progress<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/11\/30\/tsmc-negative-corp-culture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TSMC negative toxic corp culture and management style are detrimental to its future and growth<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/04\/10\/four-chip-companies\/#google_vignette\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Four chip companies account for one-third of S&amp;P 500 gains so far this year<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/04\/06\/artificial-intelligence-listed-companies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Top five lucrative artificial lucrative intelligence listed companies<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/01\/09\/tsmc-valuation\/\">Why is TSMC valuation much lower than US peers?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/04\/01\/tsmc-dcf-value\/\">What&#8217;s TSMC DCF intrinsic value?How to calculate it quickly with a free tool?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/05\/13\/yield-rate-comparison\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Yield rate comparison of SMIC, Rapidus, TSMC, Samsung, Intel&#8217;s advanced process<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/04\/29\/cost-of-chip-foundry\/\">The TSMC cost, sell price, and R&amp;D cost of chip foundry<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/01\/15\/asml-who-really-caught-tsmcs-neck\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ASML, who dominate TSMC\u2019s fate<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/16\/why-was-asml-founded\/\">Why was ASML founded?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/12\/28\/tsmc-process-roadmap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Comparison of SMIC, Rapidus, TSMC, Intel, and Samsung\u2019s new process roadmaps for future chips<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/07\/30\/two-long-term-threats-to-tsmc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Two long-term threats to TSMC: US and SMIC<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/06\/30\/tsmcs-profit-margin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why is TSMC\u2019s profit margin much greater than competitors?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/08\/13\/how-does-tsmc-make-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How does TSMC make money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/11\/02\/zyvex\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zyvex and sub-nanometer semiconductor processes, will Zyvex threat TSMC?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/01\/28\/tsmc-serious-crises\/\">TSMC gets emerging&nbsp;and serious challenges<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/06\/24\/nvidia-changes-gaming-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How does nVidia make money, Nvidia is changing the gaming rules<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/12\/11\/nvidias-monopoly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The reasons for Nvidia\u2019s monopoly and the challenges it faces<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/01\/29\/arm-acquired-by-nvidia\/\">Why nVidia failed to acquire ARM?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/07\/02\/revisiting-nvidia\/\">Revisiting Nvidia: The Absolute Leader in Artificial Intelligence, Data Center, and Graphics<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/10\/30\/how-does-intel-make-money-and-the-benefits-to-invest-in-it\/\">How does Intel make money? and the benefits to invest in it<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/11\/05\/intels-current-difficult-dilemma\/\">Intel&#8217;s current difficult dilemma<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/11\/22\/texas-instruments-bio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How does Texas Instruments make money? Amazing long term capital reward and company net profit margin!<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/04\/22\/amd-make-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How AMD makes money? A rare case of turning defeat into victory<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/02\/05\/amd-jaw-dropping\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why is AMD\u2019s performance so jaw-dropping?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/05\/01\/qualcomm-diversifies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Qualcomm diversifies success, no nonger highly dependend on phone<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/01\/29\/how-arm-make-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How does the ubiquitous Arm make money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/07\/23\/significant-changes-in-broadcoms-business-approach\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Significant changes in Broadcom\u2019s business approach<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/03\/04\/data-center-a-rapidly-growing-semiconductor-field\/\">Data center, a rapidly growing semiconductor field<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/04\/18\/applied-materials\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How does Applied Materials, lord of semiconductor equipment, make money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/08\/12\/lam-research-chip-equipment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How does Lam Research, top chip equipment player, make money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/07\/08\/semiconductor-equipment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Top five semiconductor equipment providers<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/06\/18\/chip-replaced-software\/#google_vignette\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Semiconductor replaced software and become investors&#8217; darling<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/25\/the-lucrative-semiconductor-industry\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The lucrative semiconductor supply chain<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/01\/25\/global-semiconductor-chip-market-in-detail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Global semiconductor chip market in detail, big dominators and markets<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/05\/07\/semiconductor-investment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">6 common wrong semiconductor investment myths<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/23\/3rd-gen-semiconductor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gen 3 semiconductor<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/06\/14\/eda-synopsys-cadence-mentor\/\">Three EDA oligopoly vendors: Synopsys, Cadence, and Siemens&#8217;s Mentor Graphics<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/01\/22\/how-cadence-make-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How does, the EDA oligopoly, Cadence make money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/12\/22\/how-synopsis-make-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How does Synopsis, the EDA oligopoly, make money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>The content of this site is the author\u2019s personal opinions and is for reference only. I am not responsible for the correctness, opinions, and immediacy of the content and information of the article. Readers must make their own judgments.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>I shall not be liable for any damages or other legal liabilities for the direct or indirect losses caused by the readers&#8217; direct or indirect reliance on and reference to the information on this site, or all the responsibilities arising therefrom, as a result of any investment behavior.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The lucrative semiconductor supply chain<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14023,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[110,29,392,490,420,712,116,26,24,579,43,484,23,11],"tags":[39,703,412,348,700,409,668,64,411,371,418,710,711,93,704,518,702,714,416,41,701,699,507,667,715,414,709,3,417,413,169,415,706,209,434,708,707,432,545,697,666,611,376,419,689,705,698,696,642,260,38,410,713,555],"class_list":["post-2050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-semiconductor","category-china-stock-market","category-circle-of-competence","category-entry-barrier","category-founders","category-germany-stock-market","category-hardware","category-hong-kong-stock-market","category-japan-stock-market","category-nederland-stock-market","category-peter-lynch","category-switch-cost","category-taiwan-stock-market","category-buffett","tag-adi","tag-ajiny","tag-amat","tag-amd","tag-amec","tag-amkr","tag-anss","tag-asml","tag-asx","tag-avgo","tag-cdns","tag-crus","tag-dlg","tag-fb","tag-fujiy","tag-gfs","tag-global-wafers","tag-hisilicon","tag-ifnny","tag-intc","tag-jcet","tag-jscpy","tag-jsr","tag-keys","tag-klac","tag-lrcx","tag-mchp","tag-msft","tag-mtk","tag-mu","tag-nvda","tag-nxpi","tag-on","tag-qcom","tag-realtek","tag-rnecy","tag-rohcy","tag-samsung-electronics","tag-sftby","tag-shecy","tag-siegy","tag-smee","tag-smic","tag-snps","tag-sony","tag-sumitomo-bakelite","tag-suopy","tag-toely","tag-tosyy","tag-tsm","tag-txn","tag-umc","tag-unisoc","tag-wdc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2050"}],"version-history":[{"count":123,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43156,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2050\/revisions\/43156"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}