Integrated Circuit Sector Prosperity Continues to Rise, Over 80% of STAR Market Related Enterprises Achieve Revenue Growth in 2025

Securities Daily Reporter Mao Yirong

Recently, the performance quick reports for integrated circuit companies on the STAR Market have been finalized for 2025. Shengmei Semiconductor Equipment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Shanghai XinDao Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “XinDao Technology”) have released their 2025 annual reports ahead of schedule, showing impressive results. Benefiting from the demand for artificial intelligence, a rebound in consumer electronics, and accelerated domestic substitution, the integrated circuit industry continues to enjoy high prosperity.

According to statistics, 128 integrated circuit companies on the STAR Market are expected to achieve total revenue of 365.112 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 25%, and a net profit attributable to the parent of 27.929 billion yuan, up 83% year-on-year. Among them, chip design companies lead the industry chain segments with a net profit growth of 268%. Over 80% of these companies are expected to see revenue growth compared to last year, 60% forecast higher net profits, and 12 have turned losses into profits.

AI Narrative Booming

Performance of Computing Power, Storage, and Optical Chips Excelling

In 2025, with breakthroughs in artificial intelligence technology, commercial applications entered a rapid development stage, triggering a surge in demand for computing power. Coupled with industry upgrades, performance in segments such as computing power, storage, and optical chips has shown explosive growth. Data from the quick reports indicate that 76 chip design (including IDM) companies on the STAR Market are expected to achieve a combined revenue of 163.103 billion yuan, up 32% year-on-year, with total net profit of 13.7 billion yuan, up 268%.

In the computing power chip segment, companies like Cambrian (Zhongke Hanwudi Technology), Moore Thread (Beijing) Technology, and MuXi Integrated Circuits (Shanghai) have actively promoted the implementation of AI application scenarios, gaining widespread recognition and ongoing procurement from downstream customers. Their revenues all hit record highs, reaching 6.497 billion yuan, 1.506 billion yuan, and 1.644 billion yuan respectively. Cambrian achieved its first annual profit of 2.059 billion yuan, while Moore Thread and MuXi saw losses reduced by over 30%.

Meanwhile, the AIoT market is developing rapidly, especially with the proliferation of edge AI in smart homes, automobiles, and wearables, significantly boosting the performance of consumer chip companies. CMOS image sensor manufacturer Will Semiconductor (Shanghai) Electronics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Will Semiconductor”) and smart audio SoC manufacturer Juchip Technology Co., Ltd. saw revenues increase by 51% and 42%, with net profits rising by 155% and 92%, respectively.

As AI computing power demand explodes, combined with structural adjustments on the supply side and low industry inventories, storage chips are entering a “super cycle.” Lankao Technology Co., Ltd. expects to achieve a net profit of 2.236 billion yuan in 2025, up 58%, driven by increased demand for high-performance interconnect chips, directly boosting product shipments and revenue. Shenzhen Baiwei Storage Technology Co., Ltd. is expanding its global top-tier customer base, expecting a net profit of 866 million yuan, up 437.56%, with explosive growth continuing in January-February 2026.

Additionally, high-speed optical modules, regarded as the “data transmission highway” for AI computing power, have become a core necessity in the era of computing power. Influenced by this, five optical chip companies, including Henan Shijia Photonic Technology Co., Ltd. and Shaanxi Yuanjie Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd., reported total revenue of 4.619 billion yuan in 2025, up 62%; total net profit was 713 million yuan, up 419%, showing clear characteristics of volume and profit growth.

Manufacturing Capacity Fully Loaded

Domestic Substitution Enters a New Stage

The 2026 government work report proposed to “accelerate the cultivation and expansion of new drivers of growth” and “build emerging pillar industries such as integrated circuits, aerospace, biomedicine, and low-altitude economy.”

In recent years, under the trend of global industrial chain restructuring and supported by policies on industry, talent, and taxation in China, the domestic semiconductor manufacturing and supporting industry chain have accelerated toward a new stage of scale and high-end development.

In wafer manufacturing, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), as the leading enterprise, directly benefits from industry chain localization, achieving a revenue of 67.323 billion yuan, a new high; net profit of 5.041 billion yuan, up 36%, with capacity utilization maintained at a high level of 93.5%. Huahong Semiconductor’s capacity utilization reached 106.1%, with high contributions from analog chips and memory.

In the semiconductor equipment sector, companies like Microchip Semiconductor (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and TuoJing Technology Co., Ltd. saw net profit growth exceeding 20%. Shenzhen Zhongke FeiCe Technology Co., Ltd. turned losses into profits, and domestic front-end equipment continued to secure orders for advanced storage and logic process expansion.

In packaging and testing, Shanghai Weice Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd., a leading domestic third-party independent chip testing company, increased high-end testing sales revenue, with annual revenue up 46% and net profit up 134%.

The combination of full manufacturing capacity, technological iteration, recovering downstream demand, and healthy inventory levels is jointly driving volume and price increases across the domestic industry chain.

Notably, since the beginning of 2026, several STAR Market chip design companies, including Will Semiconductor and Microchip (Shenzhen), have issued price increase notices, covering categories such as MCUs, analog chips, and power devices, with increases up to 50%. Price hikes are also seen in passive components, wafer foundries, and packaging/testing sectors, with the trend spreading from upstream raw materials and storage to the entire industry chain.

M&A and Restructuring Continue to Heat Up

Helping Companies Quickly Fill, Strengthen, and Extend the Chain

Mergers and acquisitions have become an important way for the integrated circuit industry to supplement, strengthen, extend, and cultivate world-class enterprises, further integrating industry resources and enhancing the independence and competitiveness of the industrial chain.

Driven by the “STAR Market Eight Rules,” “M&A Six Rules,” and other policy incentives, as well as industry upgrade demands, the number of M&A deals among STAR Market integrated circuit companies has significantly increased.

Since the release of the “STAR Market Eight Rules,” 51 equity acquisition cases have been disclosed, with a total transaction value exceeding 77 billion yuan, including 23 major asset restructuring projects. Some projects, such as those by ChipLink Integrated Circuits, Jiangsu Huahai Chengke New Materials, Shanghai Silicon Industry Group, and Shanghai Jingfeng Mingyuan Semiconductor, have already been completed, while several others have recently made substantial progress.

Projects involving SMIC, Taling Microelectronics (Shanghai), XinDao Technology, and Nanjing JingSheng Equipment Co., Ltd. have been accepted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange for share issuance or convertible bonds to acquire assets. As review processes continue, M&A activities in the STAR Market integrated circuit sector are expected to enter a phase of implementation and results.

Industry insiders believe that looking ahead to 2026, the AI industry will remain in a rapid growth phase. The popularity of AI innovation tools further consolidates the long-term value of upstream computing infrastructure. The trend of semiconductor growth engines shifting from consumer electronics like smartphones and PCs to AI and data centers is expected to continue. As AI reshapes the demand structure for semiconductors and industry upgrades deepen, driven by technological progress and ecosystem improvements, related companies’ products are likely to evolve from “usable” to “easy to use.”