STMicroelectronics' third quarter financial report shows "secret" layout of RF communications

In other words, the input-output cycle of RF communications cannot be reflected in the fourth-quarter financial report of the MDG department for the time being. As iPhone 12 gradually gains a foothold in the market, the MDG department will have its first wave of efforts before the end of the year, and the integration of SOMOS and mobile phone RF communications will take some time.

STMicroelectronics once again missed out on billions in revenue

If we add up ST's total revenue in the first three quarters and its outlook for the fourth quarter, the resulting figure is approximately US$9.7-9.9 billion. Unless there are major surprises, it can be said that ST has once again missed the 10 billion yuan revenue mark.

Although ST's market share in power discretes, MCU and other fields is inferior to that of the other two European semiconductor giants Infineon and NXP, ST's overall layout is more complete and focused, especially in the research and development of automotive MEMS (ranked fourth in the world in 2016) and personal electronic consumer sensors. Therefore, ST's total revenue ranks first among European semiconductor companies in the IC insights ranking, and it can also rank around the top 12 worldwide.

In 2007 and 2010, ST's annual revenue exceeded US$10 billion.

Looking at ST's annual and quarterly financial reports over the past fifteen years, we find that the company's revenue is closely related to the rise and fall of the global automotive market. After reaching a peak revenue of tens of billions of dollars in 2010, the delayed negative effects of the financial crisis began to emerge. It was not until 2017 that it gradually emerged from the trough with the rise and prosperity of the 5G communications market and the surge in demand for industrial electronic equipment. It can be said that focusing on the field of radio frequency communications is not only to make up for shortcomings, but also a necessary step for enterprises to share risks.

in conclusion

The semiconductor industry has made many analyses of the development patterns of European and American semiconductor companies. It is believed that compared with Intel, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Broadcom, etc. in the United States, the three European giants often give people an impression of being more stable than energetic, and there have even been news of acquisitions. However, although the scale of ST's MDG department is completely incomparable to that of North American giants, ST has been steadily moving forward on the most cutting-edge route in the industry while maintaining the basic structure of IDM. As early as June 2010, when the iPhone 4 was just launched, "Godfather" Steve Jobs praised the gyroscope developed by ST, which also opened a window for ST's application of MEMS in smart terminals. The 8-inch MEMS-featured wafer production line laid the foundation for it to develop the consumer market. In addition to the acceleration sensors in washing machines and game consoles as traditional advantage products, ST used 5 years to knock down the mainstream piezoelectric gyroscope products. After acquiring SOMOS, what steps will ST take in RF communications? The financial reports in the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year will tell us more answers.