China's SMIC posts record $3B quarter, hikes wafer prices

Chinese foundry SMIC reported its first-ever $3 billion quarterly revenue, up 36.1% year-over-year, with net profit nearly tripling to $479.2 million. The company also raised wafer prices as US export sanctions push more domestic chip demand its way.

Why it matters: SMIC's results are a concrete data point showing US chip sanctions have partly backfired by consolidating a captive Chinese market around domestic foundries rather than curbing China's chip supply. Combined with other recent reports of Nvidia H200 chips reaching China, it underscores how the sanctions regime is reshaping rather than blocking China's AI compute buildout.