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GlobalWafers Q1 2026. May Be Viewed As A Relatively Low Point In The Current Cycle !

2026-05-11 · 01:55 UTC ·William Martin Keating from Semicon Alpha ·3 min read

Brief

GlobalWafers reported Q1 2026 results on May 8, 2026 showing revenue of NT$13.98 billion, a 3.6% sequential and 10.3% year‑over‑year decline, with gross margin compressed to 20.8% (down 4.9 percentage points QoQ), operating margin at 10.5%, and EPS of NT$3.97 (vs NT$3.05 in Q1 2025). Chairperson Doris Hsu called Q1 “a relatively low point in the current cycle,” while SEMI shipment data released April 29 show wafer shipments are recovering (up 13% YoY in Q1 and positive YoY for seven straight quarters after a prior seven‑quarter decline). The company’s current margin profile remains far below its Q3 2022 peak (43.7% GM on ~NT$18.6 billion), and the author notes GlobalWafers has stopped publishing its revenue/gross‑margin chart after Q2 2025, reflecting continued but slow cyclical recovery and some non‑recurring near‑term margin headwinds.

Why it matters

GlobalWafers reported Q1 2026 revenue of NT$13.98 billion on May 8, 2026 — down 3.6% QoQ from Q4 2025’s NT$14.50 billion and down 10.3% YoY from Q1 2025’s NT$15.60 billion.

Key details

  • Gross margin fell to 20.8% in Q1 2026 (a 4.9 percentage-point sequential decline from 25.7% in Q4 2025); operating margin was 10.5% and EPS was NT$3.97 (vs NT$3.05 in Q1 2025).
  • Chairperson Doris Hsu said on the earnings call that “Q1 2026 may be viewed as a relatively low point in the current cycle,” signaling management’s view that conditions are near-cycle trough.
  • Industry context: SEMI data show worldwide silicon wafer shipments up 13% YoY in Q1 2026 and positive YoY shipments for seven consecutive quarters (following a prior seven-quarter decline); GlobalWafers’ historical peak was GM 43.7% on ~NT$18.6 billion revenue in Q3 2022.
Cleaned source text

On May 8, 2026, GlobalWafers (6488.TW) reported Q1 2026 revenue of NT$13.98 billion, down 3.6% quarter-on-quarter from Q4 2025’s NT$14.50 billion, and down 10.3% year-on-year from Q1 2025’s NT$15.60 billion.

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GlobalWafers Q1 2026. May Be Viewed As A Relatively Low Point In The Current Cycle !

William Martin Keating

May 11| | | ∙| | Preview

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Gross margin was 20.8%, a 4.9 percentage point sequential decline from Q4 2025’s 25.7%, driven by three distinct and largely non-recurring factors, more on these anon.

Operating margin was 10.5%. EPS was NT$3.97, as compared to Q1 2025’s NT$3.05, even as sequential profitability was compressed.

Chairperson Doris Hsu said on the call:

> “Q1 2026 may be viewed as a relatively low point in the current cycle.”

Hmm, that’s not exactly confidence inspiring!

Broadly speaking however, she’s probably correct. The SEMI industry data released on April 29 last confirms the direction of travel for silicon wafer shipments: worldwide silicon wafer shipments were up 13% year-on-year in Q1 2026. In fact, shipments have been showing positive YoY growth _for each of the past seven quarters:

For the record, this seven quarter streak of increasing YoY shipments follows a prior seven quarter streak of _decreasing_ YoY quarterly silicon wafer area shipments:

So yes, there is a recovery underway, but it’s taking _forever_. Globalwafers _used_ to publish a quarterly revenue/ gross margin chart in their earnings deck. Here’s an example from Q2 2025:

Originally, Q1 2024 was pegged by GlobalWafers as the trough of the present downturn, and it was, for a few quarters, until it wasn’t. They _stopped_ publishing the revenue/gross margin chart in the earnings deck after Q2 2025, I guess because it was too painful to look at. At their peak back in Q322, GlobalWafers hit a gross margin of 43.7% on revenues of ~NT18.6 billion. Compare that to the latest quarterly results. What’s going on with GlobalWafers?

Let’s dig in...

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