AI Chip Concept Stocks Watch | SMIC (00981.HK) up 0.67%, TSMC third-quarter revenue up 50.9% year on year

NewTimeSpace News, on 16 October 2026, AI chip stocks traded with volatility while SMIC (00981.HK) firmed. As of 13:38, the company quoted HKD 52.500, up 0.67%.

On the news front, the company has no recent news of its own; within the sector, on 15 October 2026, TSMC reported third-quarter results for the period ended 30 September 2026, with consolidated revenue of NTD 1,494.24 billion, up 50.9% year on year and up 17.6% quarter on quarter; net income of NTD 763.06 billion, up 68.7% year on year and up 8.0% quarter on quarter; a gross margin of 66.4% and an operating margin of 58.7%. By process node, 2-nanometre shipments accounted for 8% of wafer revenue in the quarter, 3-nanometre for 33%, 5-nanometre for 28% and 7-nanometre for 10%, with 7-nanometre and more advanced technologies together accounting for 79%; by platform, high performance computing accounted for 68% of revenue and smartphones for 21%. TSMC expects fourth-quarter revenue of USD 52.3 billion to USD 54.3 billion and maintained its 2026 capital expenditure guidance at USD 60 billion to USD 64 billion.

In addition, on 14 October 2026, ASML reported its 2026 third-quarter results, with total net sales of EUR 11.662 billion, a record for a single quarter, a gross margin of 57.5% and net income of EUR 4.96 billion. ASML said customers continue to raise their short- and medium-term equipment demand forecasts, driven primarily by their views on the scale and duration of AI-related investments, with some customers expressing interest in placing orders for 2029 and even 2030; under its current plans, the company's supply for both 2027 and 2028 will not fully meet customer demand, and it is investigating ways to increase 2028 capacity beyond the previously announced 30% increase.

CITIC SECURITIES believes that the market has recently focused on whether Chinese mainland wafer fabs can achieve an effective technological breakthrough in the high-margin server DDR5 market, which, if realised, would shake the narrative logic of overseas makers maintaining ultra-high pricing power through monopoly capacity; DRAM technology is still dominated by the 6F² cell structure, and the progress of 4F² technology depends on advances by Samsung Electronics and ChangXin Memory Technologies, with the technology still in an early validation stage and a relatively limited impact on the memory industry in the short to medium term.

GF SECURITIES believes that the chip design segment is closest to end customers and can capture the dividends of AI computing power and import substitution demand release fastest; based on disclosed financial data, the chip design segment is in a phase of accelerating profit release.

SMIC (00981.HK) Provides IC wafer foundry and related technical services. It is the largest pure-play wafer foundry in China by capacity and offers the broadest coverage of process nodes. Its mature and select advanced process lines address applications including smart terminals, IoT, and computing chips. Based on its periodic disclosures, wafer shipments, capacity utilization, and revenue are at historically high levels.