Taiwan-based United Microelectronics Corp (NYSE:UMC), a prominent global semiconductor foundry, reported fiscal fourth-quarter results on Wednesday.
For the quarter, the company reported revenue of $1.97 billion (61.81 billion New Taiwanese dollars), marking a 2.4% decrease year-on-year.
The figure topped the analyst consensus estimate of $1.88 billion.
On a sequential basis, revenue saw a slight uptick of 4.5%.
Earnings per American Depositary Share (ADS) came in at 13 cents, also topping the analyst consensus of 12 cents.
Advanced Node Contribution and Margins
The company reported solid progress in its advanced process nodes, with 22nm and 28nm technologies contributing 36% of wafer revenue, up from 34% year-over-year and 35% in the prior quarter.
Revenue from 40nm technology rose to 17% from 16% a year earlier, down from 18% in the third-quarter of 2025.
Capacity utilization also strengthened, improving to 78% from 70% a year ago and remaining firm since the previous quarter.
The gross margin expanded to 30.7% from 30.4% in the same period last year.
Capital expenditures for the quarter totaled $501 million.
Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2026, UMC co-president Jason Wang said the company expects wafer demand to remain firm.
He added that the company sees 2026 as another growth year, driven by accelerating tape-outs on its 22nm platforms and continued traction from new solutions.
Wang also said UMC has focused on laying the groundwork for its next growth phase by investing in both capacity and technology.
In 2025, the company completed Phase 3 of its Singapore Fab 12i, which he said already plays a key role in helping customers diversify their supply chains.
He added that UMC is working to expand its U.S. presence through partnership-based approaches, including its 12nm collaboration with Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) and a recently announced memorandum of understanding with Polar Semiconductor.
Wang said UMC's leadership in specialty technologies such as embedded high voltage, non-volatile memory and BCD has supported stable growth and will continue to do so.
He expects advanced packaging and silicon photonics to emerge as new growth drivers in 2026 and beyond, positioning UMC to serve evolving demand across AI, networking, consumer and automotive applications.
Outlook
For the first quarter of 2026, UMC expects wafer shipments and average selling prices in U.S. dollars to remain flat compared with fourth-quarter 2025 levels.
The company expects the quarterly gross profit margin to remain in the high-20% range.
It expects the quarterly capacity utilization to remain in the mid-70% range.
The company expects capital expenditure of $1.5 billion for 2026.
UMC Price Action: United Microelectronics shares were down 8.93% at $11.36 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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