FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Amkor 'Underappreciated Beneficiary' of Advanced Semiconductor Packaging, BofA Says

By
Amkor 'Underappreciated Beneficiary' of Advanced Semiconductor Packaging, BofA Says

Amkor Technology (AMKR) is an "underappreciated beneficiary" of the increasing complexity associated with semiconductor packaging, BofA Securities said Thursday.

The brokerage initiated coverage of the semiconductor packaging giant's stock with a buy rating and a $70 price objective.

"We see (Amkor) as an underappreciated beneficiary of rising semiconductor packaging complexity, (artificial intelligence/high performance computing-related) advanced packaging demand and US supply-chain regionalization," BofA analyst Ruplu Bhattacharya said in a note to clients.

Amkor shares were up 5.4% in Thursday afternoon trade, bringing its year-to-date gains to 29%.

The company continues to be a cyclical and capital-intensive provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing services, BofA said. The market isn't fully reflecting Amkor's mix shift toward advanced products and the long-term strategic value of its upcoming expanded semiconductor facility in Arizona, according to the note.

In May, the company announced it acquired an additional space next to its Arizona semiconductor campus as it expands advanced packaging and testing operations in the US. The facility is expected to assist Amkor in capturing advanced packaging business in the future from customers seeking to diversify their semiconductor supply chains, Bhattacharya said Thursday.

The company's business is becoming "less transactional," while it should benefit from improved visibility into loading, reducing the risk associated with advanced-packaging assets being installed without identified demand, BofA said.

The brokerage expects Amkor's annual earnings to reach $3.41 a share in 2028, compared with $1.51 in 2025, amid an expected improvement in mix and utilization.

BofA also highlighted key risks to the company, such as high capital intensity, negative free cash flow through its investment cycle and advanced-packaging competition.

Earlier this year, Amkor entered into a multiyear partnership with chipmaking giant Nvidia (NVDA) to develop advanced semiconductor packaging and test technologies for next-generation AI and accelerated computing platforms. Separately, Amkor signed a 10-year partnership with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) on advanced semiconductor packaging capabilities in Arizona.

Price: $51.24, Change: $+2.84, Percent Change: +5.87%

Related Articles

Foshan Haitian Posts Higher First-Half Earnings Amid Solid Soy Sauce Demand
US Markets

Foshan Haitian Posts Higher First-Half Earnings Amid Solid Soy Sauce Demand

Higher sales of soy sauce and special condiments, as well as operational efficiency driven by R&D and AI, drove Foshan Haitian Flavouring and Food's (SHA:603288, HKG:3288) attributable profit upward in the first half.The condiment maker's attributable profit jumped 7.1% year over year to 4.19 billion yuan in the first half from 3.91 billion yuan in the year-ago period, according to its earnings report filed Wednesday with the Hong Kong bourse. Earnings per share jumped to 0.72 yuan from 0.70 yuan.Revenue edged up 6% to 16.1 billion yuan from 15.2 billion yuan in the prior-year period, with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and flavored sauces taking up 77% of the total.Soy sauce revenue contributed 51% of the top line, increasing 4.6% to about 8.30 billion yuan from 7.93 billion yuan a year earlier, driven by product upgrades targeting its health-conscious and high-end lines, as well as a diversified portfolio for the food and catering industry.Specialty condiments surged the fastest by about 14% to 2.84 billion yuan, while oyster sauce revenue jumped 2.6% to 2.57 billion yuan.Gross profit margin improved by 0.92 percentage points year over year to 41.04%. The company attributed the margin expansion to increased investments in R&D and AI, process optimization, intelligent manufacturing, and lean management. Its "Lighthouse Factory" in Gaoming uses AI-powered image recognition for quality control and packaging operations.Looking forward, Foshan Haitian said it will continue benchmarking its "Lighthouse Factory" to integrate AI across its production lines and expand its overseas footprint.The company's Hong Kong shares slipped 9% while its Shanghai-listed shares fell 5% before midday Thursday.

HKG:3288SHA:603288
Prudential to Sell Up to 2% Stake in ICICI Prudential AMC to Meet India Float Rules
US Markets

Prudential to Sell Up to 2% Stake in ICICI Prudential AMC to Meet India Float Rules

Prudential (HKG:2378) plans to sell up to a 2% stake in ICICI Prudential Asset Management (NSE:ICICIAMC, BOM:544658) to help the Indian asset manager meet minimum public shareholding requirements.Prudential Corporation, a subsidiary of the UK-based insurer and one of ICICI Prudential AMC's promoters, will sell up to 9.9 million shares through the open market on Aug. 27, according to an exchange filing on Wednesday.The proposed sale represents up to 2% of ICICI Prudential AMC's issued and paid-up equity share capital.While Prudential and ICICI Prudential Asset did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, local media reports said, citing a term sheet, that the block deal represented a 2% to 7% discount to the company's Wednesday closing price.Based on the closing price of 3,222.80 rupees on the National Stock Exchange of India, the shares are worth about 29.6 billion rupees to 31.2 billion rupees, according to' calculation. Without any discount, the base value of the shares is roughly 31.9 billion rupees.Prudential Corporation currently forms part of a promoter group that holds 87.6% of the company, with the aggregate holding expected to fall to 85.6% after the sale.The sale is intended to support ICICI Prudential AMC's compliance with India's minimum public shareholding requirement.Prudential said its stake in the asset manager will fall to 32.6% after the transaction, while its governance rights in the company will remain unchanged.Prudential's stake sale is expected to take place in one or more tranches on Aug. 27.Prudential previously sold shares in ICICI Prudential AMC through the asset manager's initial public offering and pre-IPO placement.The company said the latest transaction is being undertaken specifically to support the listed asset manager's public-float requirements.

BOM:544658HKG:2378NSE:ICICIAMC
China CITIC Bank Posts Low-Single-Digit Earnings Growth in First Half
US Markets

China CITIC Bank Posts Low-Single-Digit Earnings Growth in First Half

China CITIC Bank (HKG: 0998, SHA: 601998) posted low-single-digit earnings growth for the first half of the year as its asset quality remained stable and its business continued to expand.Net profit attributable to shareholders rose 3.1% to 37.6 billion yuan from 36.5 billion yuan a year earlier, with diluted earnings per share increasing 3.3% year on year to 0.63 yuan from 0.61 yuan.Operating income climbed 4.3% to 110.4 billion yuan from 105.8 billion yuan the previous year, according to a Wednesday filing with the Hong Kong bourse.CITIC said it maintains sufficient risk absorption capacity while its asset quality remained stable. Its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio remained flat year on year at 1.15%, while its allowance coverage ratio slipped 0.49 percentage points from a year earlier to 203.12%. The NPL balance at the end of the reporting period grew 2.57% to 68.9 billion yuan.The lender's business scale maintained steady growth, with total loans and advances rising 2.50% to 6.01 trillion yuan. Net loans and advances to customers as a share of total assets held steady at 56.7%.Meanwhile, bond investments grew 1.82% to 2.278 trillion yuan, driven by increases in holdings of both government and corporate debt securities.The lender proposed an interim cash dividend of 2.03 yuan per 10 shares.

HKG:0998SHA:601998