Net revenue grew 28.3% YoY as the company recorded decent growth in all product groups and subgroups. Gross margin of 47.4% came in above the norm due to favorable pricing and improved product mix.
STMicro recorded net revenues of $3.84 billion for Q2 2022, primarily driven by the strong demand from factory automation, robotics and industrial infrastructure and automotive sectors.
STMicro is teaming up with 20+ car makers in power train electrification using its silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET. Automotive market continued to see strong demand in Q2, with the ongoing electrification and digitalization transformation across the supply chain and automotive industry.
- Automotive: Strong demand was seen in Q2 across the automotive supply chain due to the ongoing electrification and digitalization of the industry. Between the automotive and industrial markets, STMicro has around 102 projects spread over 77 customers. Multiple wins have been recorded in silicon carbide (SiC), power module and other electrical vehicle-related applications for Tier 1 automotive manufacturers. The Volkswagen Trinity project is a collaborative effort between Volkswagen Group and STMicro that aims to address multiple applications with new zonal architectures by adding an MCU and system-on-chip.
- Industrial: This sector has seen a tremendous increase in semiconductor content due to the increase in digitalization, power management and efficiency in devices and systems. Design wins have been seen in intelligent power switches, MOSFETs and wireless charging solutions.
- Consumer electronics and PC: This segment has shown some signs of softening. STMicro is focusing on selected high-volume smartphone applications and multiple design wins for wireless charging solutions in smartphones and smartwatches. Some of the consumer application design wins include a pressure sensor for hard disks, time-of-flight senses for laptops, and MasterGaN family for high-power-density charging adapters.
Segment revenues
- Automotive and Discrete Group (ADG) revenues increased 35.1% on growth in both automotive and power discrete. ADG has seen increased capability in manufacturing.
- Analog, MEMS and Sensors group (AMS) revenues grew 11.3% on higher analog, MEMS and imaging product sales.
- Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group (MDG) revenues increased 39.5% on growth in both microcontrollers and RF communications.
Company forecast
- Revenues: Q3 2022 net revenues will be around $4.24 billion at mid-point, growing 32.6% YoY and 10.5% QoQ. Also, for the full year of 2022, revenues are expected to be in the range of $15.9 billion-$16.2 billion, driven by the strong demand in ADG. ADG and MDG will register growth, but AMS will be affected by tight capacity.
- Demand and supply: Strong customer demand and planned investments will increase capacity in 2022. Manufacturing capacity for some products is fully saturated by the strong demand from factory automation, robotics and industrial infrastructure and automotive sectors. Backlog visibility is now above 18 months and well above the company’s current and planned manufacturing capacity through 2023.
- Capex and investment: Capex in Q2 2022 was $809 million compared to $438 million in Q2 2021. For 2022, capex investment is expected to be in the range of $3.4 billion-$3.6 billion. Financial support from France for the 300-mm wafer fab in Crolles will result in a high-volume manufacturing plant ranging from 90nm to 28nm and covering embedded non-volatile memory, RF mixed signal and other technologies.
Key takeaways
- In the long term, the 300-mm semiconductor manufacturing facility will be a major enabler for ST’s $20-billion-plus revenue ambition. The new fab in Italy will ramp up the production of SiC and GaN products in H1 2023.
- High-volume applications such as smartphones, communication equipment, computers and 5G infrastructure products have resulted in an increase in semiconductor content per device. In the long term, power-related semiconductor and analog content will further increase as more and more people are embracing EVs and 5G-related equipment.
- STMicro continues to drive design wins for car electrification, and with the increase in the use of silicon carbide, the revenue target is expected to reach $1 billion by 2023.
- STMicro’s major growth driver in 2023 will be the automotive segment through the company’s alliance with Volkswagen Group.
