SMIC Posts 25Q3 Results With Revenue at $2.382B
On the evening of November 13, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), the leading wafer foundry in mainland China, reported its financial results for Q3 2025, delivering stronger-than-expected performance. The company posted revenue of USD 2.382 billion, up 9.7% year-on-year, with a gross margin of 22%, both exceeding earlier guidance. Demand recovery across several application markets helped support the quarter. Smartphone-related business contributed 21.5% of revenue, while PCs and tablets accounted for 15.2%. Consumer electronics remained the largest segment at 43.4%, followed by IoT and wearables at 8%. Revenue from industrial and automotive applications continued to rise, reaching 11.9%. Geographically, revenue from China climbed to 86.2% of total sales, while the US and Europe–Asia markets contributed 10.8% and 3%, respectively.
SMIC's product mix also remained stable, with 12-inch wafer revenue representing 77% of the total and 8-inch wafers making up 23%. The company expanded its monthly capacity from the equivalent of 991,250 8-inch wafers in Q2 to 1,022,750 in Q3. Utilization rose significantly as well, reaching 95.8%, up 17.8% from a year earlier, reflecting a healthier demand environment. Capital expenditures for Q3 stood at USD 2.394 billion, compared with USD 1.885 billion in Q2, while R&D spending increased from USD 182 million to USD 203 million over the same period.
Management highlighted steady operational momentum with Q3 revenue rising 7.8% quarter-on-quarter, gross margin improving by 1.6 percentage points, and utilization strengthening by 3.3 percentage points. Based on unaudited figures, revenue for the first three quarters reached USD 6.838 billion, up 17.4% year-on-year, with gross margin improving to 21.6%, a gain of 5.3 percentage points from the previous year.
Looking ahead to Q4, SMIC expects revenue to remain flat to up by as much as 2% quarter-on-quarter, while gross margin is forecast to land between 18% and 20%.
