Actual data shows that TSMC has earned more than SMIC with the 28nm process alone
As we all know, TSMC is the world's most powerful chip foundry company, with a share of about 55%, and it is also the only one of the two manufacturers in the world that has mastered the 3nm process, the other being Samsung.
SMIC is the most promising chip foundry company in Chinese mainland, ranking fifth in the world, with a market share of more than 5%. At present, the process is 14 nanometers, but the proportion is not high, and the main process is more than 40 nanometers.
That's why people always say that TSMC makes money on advanced technology, while SMIC makes money on mature technology, and the two are not the same.
At the same time, we all hope that SMIC will continue to move towards advanced technology, because based on mature technology, the market will not be so big and the competition will not be so fierce.
Of course, mastering advanced technology is very good, but if you can't master advanced technology, it's not impossible to make money with the 28nm process.
Let me tell you a real fact, don't look at TSMC to make money on advanced technology, but the annual revenue of this process alone is higher than the annual revenue of all SMIC's processes.
As shown in the chart below, this is the revenue share contributed by TSMC's main processes in 2022 and 2021, we only look at the 28nm process, which contributed 10% in 2022 and 13% in 2021.
TSMC's revenue in 2022 will be 2NT$264 trillion, or about RMB 500 billion, of which 28nm accounts for 10%, that is, the 28nm process alone has a change contribution of more than 50 billion yuan.
SMIC's total revenue in the first three quarters of 2022 was 3776.4 billion yuan, an average of about 12.5 billion yuan per quarter, and the fourth quarter should be reduced, even if calculated at 12.5 billion, the annual revenue is about 50 billion, which is roughly equivalent to the revenue of TSMC's 28nm process.
What is the significance of the data presented here?They show that the current market for 28nm processes is actually very large, and the market for mature processes of 28nm and above is also very large.
Although we can't master advanced technology now, not all chips must use advanced technology, and the mature process market will always exist, as long as semiconductor manufacturing is based on mature technology, and then move towards advanced technology, the prospect is equally worry-free.
According to previous agency data, with 28nm as the dividing line, the proportion of 28nm and above processes in all chips will reach 77% in 2022, 75% in 2023, and 24% in 2024.
Therefore, even if we are still stuck at the 14nm process, there is no need to panic, and it is one of SMIC's current guidelines to increase production capacity first to meet the demand for mature processes.