Episode
UMC (UMC): Net Income Up 161% - But Two-Thirds Wasn’t From Chips
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- Jul 29, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 913
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Summary
United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) Q2 2026 — United Microelectronics (UMC), Taiwan's mature-node specialty foundry, reported Q2 2026 revenue of NT$68.73B (US$2.18B, +12.6% QoQ, +17.0% YoY) at the top end of guidance, gross margin up to 32.5% from 29.2%, operating income up 32.6% to NT$14.95B on utilization of 85% and wafer shipments up 10.6%. Net income attributable of NT$42.26B was up 161% QoQ - EPS NT$3.39, or US$0.537 per ADS against a consensus of about US$0.158. But NT$30.24B of that pre-tax profit was NET NON-OPERATING INCOME, up 463% QoQ and 67% of pre-tax profit, and the earnings deck never says what it was. Core operating EPS taxed at a normal 17% is about US$0.157 per ADS - almost exactly the consensus. The entire beat was the line the company did not explain. Management also raised 2026 capex from $1.5B to $2.0B, approved roughly $5B of phased expansion across 2026-27 (Singapore P4 cleanroom plus a new Tainan fab shell), and guided depreciation to grow low-teens percent for at least two years. Our call: AVOID, 3/5, fair value $11.50 per ADS versus $17.11 - and no cell in our mid-cycle grid reaches today's price. UMC just reported net income up 161% in a single quarter and beat the analyst estimate by thirty-eight cents a share - and the stock did essentially nothing. That was not a market failure. Q2 2026 revenue was NT$68.73 billion (about US$2.18 billion), up 12.6% sequentially and 17% year over year, at the top end of guidance. Gross margin expanded from 29.2% to 32.5%. Operating income rose 32.6% to NT$14.95 billion. All of that is real. But net income attributable was NT$42.26 billion, and pre-tax profit was NT$45.19 billion - which means NT$30.24 billion, sixty-seven percent of pre-tax profit, was NET NON-OPERATING INCOME, up 463% from NT$5.4 bi…