China Semiconductor: OSAT sector: positive read-through from 2Q26 foundry earnings

Research evidence excerpt

Asia Pacific Equity Research

18 August 2026

China Semiconductor

OSAT sector: positive read-through from 2Q26

foundry earnings

Domestic foundries’ record high 2Q26 sales and solid 3Q26 guidance indicate

strong order book for downstream OSAT players into 2H26. Together with

ongoing price hikes and product mix optimization, this should drive further

margin upside for JCET into 2H26, while advanced-packaging capex lays the

foundation for long-run growth, in our view. Meanwhile, despite margin

pressure during a short-term product mix transition, we believe sales and

GPM expansion of V-test are likely to accelerate in 2H26, thanks to the

ramping volume of local fabricated AI chips. We rate JCET and V-Test OW.

• Solid foundry demand as a leading indicator. Both SMIC and Hua Hong

delivered record quarterly revenue in 2Q26 and guided sustained 3Q26

growth, underpinned by shipment growth and price increases. Given

production lead times, wafers shipped from foundries in 2Q-3Q26 typically

convert into packaging/ testing demand 1-2 quarters later, making these

prints a leading demand indicator for downstream players into 2H26.

Semiconductors

Billy Feng AC

(86-21) 6106 6359

SAC Registration Number: S1730520030005

Ri Xu AC

(86-21) 6106 6318

SAC Registration Number: S1730522100001

J.P. Morgan Securities (China) Company

Limited

• OSATs to deliver further margin upside. Domestic OSAT players

reported strong preliminary 2Q26 results; JCET preliminarily reported net

profit (excl. non-operating items) of Rmb560mn at the mid-point (up

112%/28% QoQ/YoY). We attribute this to robust AI-driven demand

compounded by “local-for-local” localization, and better pricing flexibility

amid rising raw material costs and supply tightness. Heading into 2H26, we

expect further margin improvement driven by: 1) price increase upside and

2) tight supply enabling mix optimization.

• V-Test's AI potential to ramp. We recently initiated on V-Test (link) as a

scarce pure-play to capture the domestic AI chip ramp into 2027/28E. We do

not dispute the Capex/ depreciation concern, but pre-investment is necessary

given extending lead-time for high-end testers. We forecast 2Q26 revenue/

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