United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.38 EPS

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The semiconductor company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.38, Zacks reports. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 33.18%.The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion.

Here are the key takeaways from United Microelectronics’ conference call:

• Second-quarter performance improved: Revenue rose 12.6% quarter over quarter to TWD 68.73 billion, gross margin reached 32.5%, utilization increased to 85%, and wafer shipments grew 10.6%.
• UMC expects continued momentum in the third quarter, guiding for high-single-digit shipment growth, utilization above 90%, firm U.S.-dollar ASPs, and gross margin in the mid-30% range, supported by power-management ICs, sensors, microcontrollers, and a rebound in 8-inch demand.
• Management projects AI-related revenue of approximately US$300 million in 2026 and more than US$1 billion within three years, spanning connectivity, power management, FPGA, advanced packaging, and silicon photonics.
• The board approved phased capacity investments, including clean-room expansion at Singapore P4 and a new Tainan fab for advanced packaging; 2026 CapEx was raised to US$2 billion from US$1.5 billion to prepare for AI-driven demand.
• Management said the recovery is not yet broad-based; handset, PC, and notebook demand is expected to decline year over year, while customer inventories remain elevated in consumer, smartphone, automotive, and industrial segments. Increased investment is also expected to drive low-teens annual depreciation growth for at least the next two years, potentially limiting gross-margin expansion.

United Microelectronics Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of United Microelectronics stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.22. The company had a trading volume of 8,164,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,931,263. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.07. United Microelectronics has a fifty-two week low of $6.56 and a fifty-two week high of $28.96. The firm has a market cap of $48.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.4122 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 166.0%. This is a positive change from United Microelectronics’s previous annual dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 8th. United Microelectronics’s dividend payout ratio is 28.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on UMC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. BNP Paribas Exane restated an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research raised United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Microelectronics has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UMC. Compound Planning Inc. raised its stake in United Microelectronics by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 53,144 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 8,371 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 146,966 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 11,440 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 261,121 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,052,000 after purchasing an additional 116,456 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at about $134,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,989,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

United Microelectronics Company Profile

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry that provides wafer fabrication and related manufacturing services to a global customer base. Founded in 1980, the company operates as a pure-play foundry, producing integrated circuits for a range of customers including fabless semiconductor companies and integrated device manufacturers. UMC is publicly listed (NYSE: UMC) and focuses on high-reliability manufacturing rather than branding consumer products.

UMC’s core services encompass wafer fabrication using a portfolio of process technologies, with particular emphasis on mature and specialty nodes that support analog, power-management, radio-frequency (RF), and mixed-signal applications.