Nikkei · Silicon wafers · World No.2 in 300mm (~25%)
SUMCO Corporation
The world’s No.2 silicon-wafer maker with about 25% of 300mm supply. Shin-Etsu and SUMCO together cover more than half of 300mm volume. Supplies polished wafers under long-term agreements to TSMC, Samsung, SK hynix, Micron and Intel; ultra-flat wafers for HBM4 and hybrid bonding have become a key bottleneck.
3436.T Updated Jul 12, 2026 5 AI consumers· 3 recurring
Per the valuechain.wiki graph, SUMCO Corporation is directly linked to 5 companies (0 supply, 5 revenue relationships) and reaches 30 companies within two hops; the links are backed by 6 dated sources, 1 of them primary filings (as of 2026-07-12).
Financials & Segments
- Total revenue · About 25% of global 300mm wafer supply (world No.2)
- Customer concentration · Customers TSMC, Samsung, SK, Micron, Intel under LTAs. HBM4 ultra-flat wafer supply is critical.
- Segments · Semiconductor silicon (300mm/200mm wafers)(~25% of 300mm) · Other chemicals/materials
Revenue from
- Samsung Electronics High confidence· Market share 25% · 2023~2025 · global 300mm wafer share
Supplies 300mm polished wafers to Samsung under LTAs — HBM4 ultra-flat wafer supply is a new premium bottleneck.Confirms KO BizWatch Published May 23, 2025: SK Siltron, the hidden wafer champion, takes on Japan’s leadConfirms EN Market Growth Reports Published Jan 1, 2025: 300mm Silicon Wafers Market (top five ~85%) - SK hynix High confidence
Supplies 300mm polished wafers to SK hynix under LTAs — a beneficiary as HBM expansion raises wafer input.Confirms KO BizWatch Published May 23, 2025: SK Siltron, the hidden wafer champion, takes on Japan’s lead - Micron Technology High confidence
Supplies 300mm polished wafers to Micron under LTAs — wafer demand stacks when the three memory makers expand at once.Confirms KO BizWatch Published May 23, 2025: SK Siltron, the hidden wafer champion, takes on Japan’s lead - TSMC High confidence
Supplies 300mm polished wafers to TSMC under long-term agreements — a duopoly with Shin-Etsu that leaves no ready alternative, a bottleneck.Confirms KO BizWatch Published May 23, 2025: SK Siltron, the hidden wafer champion, takes on Japan’s lead - Intel Medium confidence
Supplies 300mm polished wafers to Intel under LTAs — the wafer axis of its foundry expansion.Mentions EN Analyst consensus Published May 1, 2026: SUMCO — analyst consensus (300mm wafer cycle recovery)Confirms KO BizWatch Published May 23, 2025: SK Siltron, the hidden wafer champion, takes on Japan’s lead
Pays to
- crystal-growth & polishing equipment (undisclosed) Low confidence
Crystal pullers and polishing/cleaning equipment (undisclosed). - polysilicon, quartz crucibles & energy (undisclosed) Low confidence
Polysilicon, quartz crucibles and energy for crystal growth (suppliers undisclosed).
Value-chain ripple (2 tiers)
Following node-to-node links up to 2 tiers; each firm is shown once, at its nearest tier.
| Company | Chain | '21 | '22 | '23 | '24 | '25 | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marvell | lead2 | +84.6 | -57.5 | +63.7 | +83.8 | -22.8 | +177.8 |
| AMD | lead2 | +56.9 | -55 | +127.6 | -18.1 | +77.3 | +160.5 |
| Astera Labs | lead2 | · | · | · | · | +25.6 | +148.2 |
| MediaTek | lead2 | +27.8 | -26.6 | +52.9 | +58.3 | +24.9 | +124.3 |
| Fortinet | lead2 | +142 | -32 | +19.7 | +61.4 | -16 | +98.4 |
| Renesas Electronics | lead2 | +8.2 | +2.4 | +88 | -13.6 | +23.8 | +84.9 |
| Credo Technology | lead2 | · | · | +46.3 | +245.2 | +114.1 | +79.2 |
| Realtek | lead2 | +19.6 | -33.8 | +56.2 | +19.1 | -6.4 | +73.7 |
| Global Unichip | lead2 | +21.4 | +67.6 | +99.4 | -13.7 | +101.4 | +66.4 |
| Cisco | lead2 | +45.8 | -22.5 | +9.3 | +21 | +33.5 | +59.8 |
| Montage Technology | lead2 | -18.2 | -21.8 | -18 | +51.4 | +169 | +47.4 |
| Analog Devices | lead2 | +21 | -4.9 | +23.4 | +8.8 | +29.8 | +46.7 |
| Microchip Technology | lead2 | +27.5 | -18 | +30.9 | -35 | +14.6 | +40.6 |
| NXP Semiconductors | lead2 | +44.8 | -29.2 | +48.4 | -8 | +6.4 | +35.8 |
| Alchip Technologies | lead2 | +14.3 | -8.7 | +365.1 | -18.9 | +0.8 | +34.7 |
| Everpure (formerly Pure Storage) | lead2 | +44 | -17.8 | +33.3 | +72.3 | +9.1 | +18.4 |
| Broadcom | lead2 | +56.5 | -13.3 | +104.2 | +110.5 | +50.6 | +16 |
| NVIDIA | lead2 | +125.5 | -50.3 | +239 | +171.2 | +38.9 | +13.3 |
| Qualcomm | lead2 | +22.3 | -38.6 | +35.1 | +8.3 | +13.8 | +11.7 |
| Ambarella | lead2 | +121 | -59.5 | -25.5 | +18.7 | -2.6 | +9.1 |
| Sony Semiconductor Solutions | lead2 | +27.2 | -8.4 | +27.8 | +17.9 | +1 | -2.4 |
| Phison Electronics | lead2 | +26.8 | -10.7 | +45.1 | -6.7 | +418.3 | -6 |
| Mobileye | lead2 | · | · | +23.6 | -54 | -47.6 | -8.5 |
| Will Semiconductor | lead2 | -12.1 | -49.7 | -8.3 | +22.8 | +15.5 | -14.8 |
| Micron Technology | lead1 | +24.2 | -45.9 | +71.9 | -1 | +240.2 | +243.3 |
| Intel | lead1 | +6.1 | -46.6 | +94.6 | -59.6 | +84 | +197.7 |
| SK hynix | lead1 | -0.4 | -25.6 | +53.9 | +48.6 | +361.1 | +140.3 |
| Samsung Electronics | lead1 | -9 | -14.2 | +20.9 | -26.4 | +212.9 | +77.9 |
| TSMC | lead1 | +12.1 | -36.7 | +42.3 | +92.6 | +55.9 | +43.6 |
| SUMCO Corporation | node | -4.3 | -3.9 | +21.3 | -48.1 | +41.7 | +225.8 |
YTD as of 2026-07-10 · source: Yahoo Finance
The thesis is a duopoly position sharing 300mm silicon wafers — semiconductor's most basic material — with Shin-Etsu (Shin-Etsu ~30%, SUMCO ~25%, together over half). TSMC, Samsung, SK hynix, Micron and Intel all lock volume under long-term agreements (LTAs) because there is no ready alternative, so a wafer shortage becomes the ceiling on fab expansion — the AI/HBM boom lifts wafer input, and ultra-flat wafers for HBM4 and hybrid bonding have emerged as a new premium bottleneck. LTAs pre-lock price and volume for downturn defense, but margins are exposed to input costs like polysilicon, quartz crucibles and power. Risks are that new capacity has long lead times, so expansion lags demand, and that wafer demand trails fab utilization.
Analysis generated from returns as of 2026-07-10Analyst ratings
Consensus: Buy 1 · Hold 1 · Sell 1 · Avg. target ¥2,733 · Price ¥5,244 (07-10) · Upside -48%
| Broker | Rating | Target | Published | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley | Underweight | ¥3,000 | Jun 9, 2026 | Report ↗ |
| UBS | Neutral | ¥3,100 | May 21, 2026 | Report ↗ |
| Nomura | Buy | ¥2,100 | Sep 29, 2025 | Report ↗ |
Views are split: Nomura (Buy) and UBS (upgrade to Neutral) turned less bearish on the wafer recovery, while Morgan Stanley cut SUMCO to Underweight on valuation in June 2026.
Analyses covering this node
- Target upside is a residual, not a signal: consensus writes down the chain after the fact Jul 10, 2026