SMIC Profit Jumps 123.4% in Third Quarter as Shares Rise 4.7%
Key Facts
SMIC’s net profit jumped 123.4% year over year in the third quarter of 2026, beating analyst estimates, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing the company’s results. Net profit was $428.4 million, compared with an LSEG estimate of $418.4 million. Revenue also rose 33.9% year over year to $3.19 billion. The announcement came after the Hong Kong market closed, making Friday’s trading the first full session after the results were published. In early trading on Friday, the stock rose 4.7% to HK$51.05, while the Hang Seng Index fell 0.6%, according to Investing.com.
Revenue growth was accompanied by an improvement in gross margin, which reached 29.9% in the third quarter. The margin was 25.3% in the second quarter of 2026 and 22% in the third quarter of 2025, according to Investing.com. Chip shipments rose 5.7% quarter over quarter to 3.03 million 8-inch-equivalent wafers. Factory utilization also reached 97.3%, compared with 93.7% in the second quarter. These quarterly indicators show shipments expanding and factory utilization rising alongside revenue and profitability growth.
Business remained heavily concentrated in the Chinese market, which accounted for 90.8% of third-quarter revenue, up from 90.2% in the previous quarter, according to Investing.com. This means China’s share of total revenue increased in a single quarter, while still representing the vast majority of sales. The figure provides geographic context for reading the company’s results, alongside revenue and shipment growth. China’s higher share also coincided with increased factory utilization and an improved gross margin. The published figures did not link this geographic distribution to a specific reason for the stock’s move in Friday’s session.
The company’s forward guidance points to revenue growth alongside a margin decline from the third-quarter level. SMIC expects fourth-quarter 2026 revenue to rise 4% to 6% quarter over quarter, while forecasting a gross margin of 26% to 28%. The expected margin range is below the 29.9% recorded in the third quarter, according to Investing.com. The outlook places revenue and profitability in the coming quarter on two different trajectories: sequential sales growth and a margin below the latest reading. The company’s shares closed at HK$48.74 on November 12, 2026, according to EL7 data.